Four men have been arrested
Drugs packages seized from a boat in Somerset(Image: National Crime Agency)
Four men have been arrested, and a multi-agency investigation has been launched in the south-west, after several hundred kilos of drugs were seized from a boat in Somerset.
The arrests were made in the early hours of Thursday morning, July 31, in Watchet, west Somerset.
Two UK nationals, a Greek national, and an Albanian national, aged between 30 and 50, remain in police custody at this time.
An investigation has been launched by the National Crime Agency (NCA), with support from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Avon and Somerset Police, Devon and Cornwall Police, and Border Force.
The group are suspected of using a high-powered rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) to travel out to sea, where it is believed a cargo vessel had dropped off packages of what is believed to be cocaine.
The men are suspected of picking up the drugs to bring them to shore, where they would then be transported to an onward location.
The NCA is investigating potential links with cargo vessels in the area at the time of the incident.
The four will be questioned by NCA officers.
NCA Regional Head of Investigations, Gavin Webb, said: “This is a fast-moving, intelligence-led investigation by the NCA, with the support of partners including Border Force, the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Avon and Somerset Police, and Devon and Cornwall Police.
“The NCA is confronting and dealing with at-sea drugs drop-offs as a priority, focusing on protecting the public, and ensuring illegal drugs do not make it to UK shores.
“Our investigation is ongoing and those arrested remain in custody.”