Two British nationals have been arrested on the holiday island of Madeira on suspicion of smuggling £2 million pounds worth of cocaine aboard a luxury cruise liner. The pair, were amongst 12 people, who were detained when the cruise ship, the MSC Opera, docked at Funchal en route from the Caribbean on March 24. Local police assisted by members of Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) recovered around 18 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £2 million. The cocaine had been hidden in crisp packets and ceramic bowls which had been stashed in suitcases. Six of those arrested had been passengers on board the vessel when it travelled from the West Indies to Madeira. The other six, including the two Britons, and a Dutch national who lives in London, had recently travelled to Madeira, where it is suspected they were due to meet the ship when it docked. The drugs had been stored in crisp packets Those arrested were aged between 20 and 52 and included six men and six women. All twelve have been detained pending prosecution in the Portuguese courts. Allan Round, NCA operations manager at the Joint Border Intelligence Unit, said:“We believe this operation will have seriously disrupted an organised crime group looking to traffic cocaine into the UK and Europe. The drugs had been hidden in bowls “Working with our Portuguese colleagues we have been able to act on intelligence at speed and prevent this quantity of drugs from reaching its final destination. “Once in the UK we know cocaine generates huge profits for criminal networks who are also involved in street violence and exploitation, so stopping it will help reduce the harm caused by them.” The Joint Border Intelligence Unit combines staff from the NCA, Border Force and other law enforcement to share intelligence and pursue and disrupt those who attempt to evade UK border controls for criminal purposes.
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