Big cocaine haul seized at sea by UK Customs

Cocaine worth more than £250m was seized from a boat bound for Europe by British authorities yesterday. It was the biggest cocaine haul seized in European waters and the biggest haul of the drug to be netted by a British-led customs operation, the Customs Service said.

Cocaine worth more than £250m was seized from a boat bound for Europe by British authorities yesterday. It was the biggest cocaine haul seized in European waters and the biggest haul of the drug to be netted by a British-led customs operation, the Customs Service said.

Eight men were arrested during the operation, at about 5pm, which involved British and Spanish authorities, the Royal Navy warship HMS Cumberland, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight and aircraft. In all, 3.6 tonnes of cocaine was seized, with some found in the crew's bunks.

The boat on which the drugs were allegedly carried, the Cork, was a former German Second World War motor torpedo high-speed vessel and it was Honduras-registered. A UK customs spokeswoman said the drugs were believed to have come from Colombia.

The eight men – including a captain from the Dominican Republic and a Greek crew – were arrested and were being questioned in Spain last night.

The customs spokeswoman said the boat was boarded at "deep sea" in the mid-Atlantic.

Paul Evans, the Chief Investigation Officer for HM Customs and Excise, said: "This is an excellent example of our close and continuing co-operation with the Spanish authorities to tackle Class A drugs."