Gang members accused of importing drugs worth billions into UK arrested in nationwide sting operation

National Crime Agency says group’s operations were the ‘biggest ever uncovered in the UK’

Suspected members of an international gang who smuggled billions of pounds worth of drugs into the UK have been arrested in a nationwide sting operation.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the “industrial-scale” racket is the largest ever uncovered in Britain.

Thirteen men, aged between 24 and 59, were detained in dawn raids on Tuesday in London, Manchester, Stockport, St Helens, Warrington, Bolton, Dewsbury and Leeds.

They are accused of being part of an organised crime group that imported more than 50 tonnes of drugs into Britain from the Netherlands.

The NCA said the heroin, cocaine and cannabis had a street value of billions of pounds.

Investigators believe the suspects are part of the UK arm of a “well-established” gang that used Dutch and British front companies to hide drugs inside lorry consignments of vegetables and drinks.

A photo of a lorry containing drugs seized in September 2018 showed they were concealed inside boxes of children’s juice pouches.

The drugs were brought into British ports over a period of 18 months up to October 2018.

Three consignments intercepted last December were found to contain 351kg of cocaine, 92kg of heroin, 250kg of cannabis and 1,850kg of hemp and hashish, with a total street value of more than £38m.

An investigation revealed that the same group had made numerous imports from February 2017 onwards, with the drugs being distributed around Britain.

Jayne Lloyd, the NCA regional head of investigations, said the group and others like it fuel the brutal “county lines” drug trade that sees children used as mules and has been linked to rising violence.

“Stopping criminals who don’t care about the damage they are causing in communities, and the children being exploited by county lines drug dealing, is an absolute priority,” she added.

“We suspect these men were involved in an industrial-scale operation – the biggest ever uncovered in the UK – bringing in tonnes of deadly drugs that were distributed to crime groups throughout the country.

A lorry seized in an operation against a gang accused of importing more than 50 tonnes of drugs worth billions of pounds into the UK from the Netherlands (NCA)

“By working closely with partners here and overseas, in particular the Dutch national police, we believe we have dismantled a well-established drug supply route.”

Four men and two women from the Netherlands were arrested in April 2019 under European Arrest Warrants and are awaiting extradition to the UK.

Officials said the investigation was linked to another NCA operation, which saw 13 people jailed after the seizure of more than 100kg of heroin in 2015.