The seizure shows how organised crime groups are using ever-more sophisticated methods to evade detection. Smugglers would have known Border Force faced paying out hundreds of thousands of pounds had they damaged the combined 40 tonnes of equipment without detecting anything. Home Office minister Mike Tapp said: Vile drug smugglers thought the threat of a huge damages bill would scare Border Force off intercepting this deadly cocaine haul.
A senior detective said cracking the covert messaging platform EncroChat was pivotal in securing convictions against members of an organised crime group who planned to smuggle 48m worth of cocaine into Europe. The gang was involved in the plot to smuggle 600kg (94st 6lb) of the Class A drug on a yacht that was being used in a transatlantic sailing race. The ringleaders - Lee McClenaghan and Lea Talbot, both from Essex - admitted their involvement and were imprisoned for 30 and 23 years respectively.
