The UK National Crime Agency and Border Control has released details of a record 5.7-tonne Class A drug seizure of cocaine in a South American banana shipment. 

Agents discovered the illicit cargo in early February at the Southampton Port in southern England. Law enforcement said it appeared to be destined for Hamburg, Germany. The drugs have an estimated street value of around £450 million or US$570 million.

Drug smuggling continues to be an issue for the global banana sector, with similar drug busts occurring throughout Europe.

In January, the executive director of the Association of Banana Marketing and Export (Acorbanec), Richard Salazar, told FreshFruitPortal.com that organized crime has severely affected daily work for growers in the country.

"This is why the export sector and the banana sector in particular have invested around $100 million in security systems, satellite tracking, padlocks, and surveillance systems," he said.

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The NCA indicated they are working closely with European authorities as they continue to target international drug networks.

“This record-breaking seizure will represent a huge hit to the international organized crime cartels involved, denying them massive profits. The work of the NCA was crucial to making it happen,” NCA Director Chris Farrimond said.

The UK’s other largest seizures include a 3.7-tonne cocaine shipment seized in 2022, also at Southampton Port, and another 3.2 tonnes found in Scotland in 2015.

General aviation and general maritime transportation are some most complex vulnerabilities at the UK border, according to the NCA’s 2018 National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organized Crime.

The UK’s over 11,000 miles of coastline pose many opportunities for drug traffickers to use commercial vessels to facilitate larger importations of illicit commodities from Europe for onward distribution.

The NCA said criminal organizations have made significant investments in general aviation to facilitate the illegal movement of people and commodities.