Cocaine galore as haul is washed up

Two bags of cocaine with a total street value of up to £280,000 were washed up on beaches during last Bank Holiday weekend, police said today.

The packages, which each weighed one kilogram and were wrapped in yellow tape, were found by members of the public at two west country beaches 10 miles apart.

The news was kept quiet while police and customs officers searched all the beaches in the area to see if more cocaine would be washed up.

One bag was found by a man walking on Mothercombe Beach in south Devon and a second by a holiday-maker at Kingsand, Cornwall, who took the drugs to a local police station.

The cocaine has been sent for further analysis by Customs and Excise but police said each could contain £140,000 worth of the drug.

A customs spokesman said it was very difficult to determine where the bags came from.

He said they may have come from a passing ship or have been part of a smuggling attempt where something went wrong. Inqiries were continuing but had so fare drawn a blank.