Cocaine worth £80 million washes up on Sussex beaches
People visiting the Sussex coast have been urged to contact police immediately if they spot anything suspicious after almost a tonne of cocaine with a street value of £80 million washed up on two beaches.
The first huge consignment of the drug was spotted floating in the sea just yards offshore at Hastings by members of the public at around 6am yesterday (Tues).
The cocaine had been wrapped in waterproof packaging and tied to lifejackets in order to keep it afloat.
The eagle eyed passers-by, who spotted the packages, tipped off Sussex Police officers, who quickly retrieved them and removed them to a safe and secure location.
Several hours later a second shipment was found by walkers washed up on the beach at Newhaven around 30 miles away.
Again the police alerted and the drugs were seized and secured.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "In liaison with the coastguard, and East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, the packages were recovered and will be tested to determine what they are.
"They are suspected to be class A drugs and have been taken to an undisclosed secure location."
The combined weight of the two shipments is thought to be around 960 kilos, which if cut and sold on the streets in the UK, would have had an estimated street value of around £80 million.
The investigation has now been handed over to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
One policing source said: "This is a huge haul and the fact the shipments were found relatively close to one another within hours would suggest we have got it all, but we cannot be certain there is not more out there floating around.
"The message to anyone who sees anything suspicious or spots any more of these packages is to contact the police immediately."
It is thought the narcotics originated in South America, but were bound for the UK market.
It is not clear how the cocaine ended up in the sea, but one theory is that the smugglers threw the drugs overboard intending for them to be collected by their criminal associates, but they washed away before they were located.
Another theory is that the gang responsible ditched the drugs fearing they were about to be intercepted by Border Force or customs officers.
Martin Grace, NCA branch commander, said the haul amounted to a "significant hit" to the criminal gangs shipping the drugs.
He added: "This is a significant amount of class A drugs which we think originated in South America, but we are keeping an open mind about how the drugs washed up here and where the end destination might have been.
"Clearly though losing a consignment of this size this will represent a significant hit to the criminal networks involved.
"Our investigation is being assisted by both Sussex Police and Border Force, and is also likely to involve international partners."
Four years ago a similar haul was discovered when two consignments of cocaine washed up on two beaches in Norfolk.
Around 360 kilos of the Class A drug was found in holdalls attached to flotation devices near Great Yarmouth.
