Cocaine and heroin worth £27m found among vegetables on lorry

Romanian man arrested as detectives seize drugs hidden among tomatoes and onions

The drugs were found in a lorry load of vegetables (File photo) (PA)

Drugs with a potential street value of £27m have been found hidden in a lorry load of vegetables at a port.

A Romanian man was arrested after the 400kg of cocaine and heroin were discovered at Killingholme Port, north Lincolnshire, concealed in a load of onions and tomatoes.

The lorry arrived from the Hook of Holland on Wednesday, and detectives pounced on a 45-year-old Romanian who arrived to drive the lorry away.

He was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to import class-A drugs, and later released under investigation.

National Crime Agency branch commander Jayne Lloyd said: “The seizure of this significant amount of controlled drugs supports our mission to protect the public from harm.

“We will continue to work with law-enforcement partners to detect and disrupt criminal activity.”

Liz Versi, director at Border Force North, said: “This was a substantial seizure and demonstrates the vital work Border Force officers are doing to take class-A drugs out of circulation.

“We are determined to prevent drugs from being brought into the country and causing harm to our communities.”

Additional reporting by agencies