Cocaine gang arrested after flour plant

Millions of pounds worth of cocaine was stolen from a warehouse by a gang of dealers, unaware that police had earlier switched the shipment to flour.

A total of eight people were subsequently arrested in the Manchester area over the seizure which was around 80 kilos of the drug, an estimated £3.2 million’s worth. The bust was made by officers from the Serious Organised Crime squad who had substituted flour for the illegal drug ahead of its delivery to a Trafford Park distribution warehouse.

The arrest hit a minor snag when police failed to keep watch on the warehouse at night, believing the drugs would be collected during the daytime. It was under the cover of darkness that the gang broke into the warehouse, assaulting two security guards in the process before fleeing with then consignment.

The cocaine was hidden inside heavy metal drill kegs and was later recovered from an area of the River Irwell, near the M60 junction 19. The drugs were originally discovered in a lorry at Dover by the UK Border Agency. The kegs were inspected by UKBA staff who found secret compartments inside which held the cocaine.

SOCA officials made eight arrests after raining homes in Rochdale, Ramsbottom and Manchester, with more expected to follow.

The UKBA claimed that the arrests showed the agency was determined to stop the importation and impact of illegal drugs on British society.