£7 million worth of herbal cannabis found in lorry

12 January 2011, 12:58 | Updated: 12 January 2011, 13:28

Officers from Northamptonshire Police’s Organised Crime Unit seized more than £7 million worth of herbal cannabis from a lorry delivering to a distribution warehouse in the Corby area.

The haul was discovered within a large shipment of goods destined for outlets in the United Kingdom, having been shipped to Tilbury Docks from Cuba via Jamaica.

The lorry was intercepted in the county a short while after leaving the holding depot at Dirft in Daventry, having collected its cargo that had arrived by rail from Essex.

The pallets of goods had been loaded as normal, however there were loose boxes on top of the pallets containing herbal cannabis.

The container was carrying 44 boxes of herbal cannabis (Class B), amounting to 1,307kg with an estimated street value of £7 million.

Also present was a quantity of brown liquid believed to be cannabis oil, a Class A drug, around 10kg in weight with an estimated street value of £150,000.

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Davies, of the Organised Crime Unit, said: “Enquiries were made internationally with other law enforcement agencies and these are continuing.

“We are looking to arrest a man in connection with this seizure and we maintain an open mind as to the eventual destination of this drugs consignment, but don’t believe at this time it was intended for Northamptonshire.

“However, the re-assurance is that this is a very significant recovery of drugs nationally and demonstrates the level of organisation now being used by criminal groups.

“Northamptonshire Police will continue to tackle organised criminality effectively.”