£53 million Cocaine Seizure, Man in Court

Officers from the YHROCU, working with UK Border Force colleagues, seized 536 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than £53million, from the London Gateway port, near Thurrock, Essex, on Friday (13/2).

A 44-year-old man from the Goole area was arrested in Manchester in connection with the seizure and been charged with conspiracy to import Class A drugs and a separate charge of conspiracy to import 872 kilos of cannabis in November 2025. He appeared before magistrates in Leeds earlier today and was remanded to appear before Leeds Crown Court in March.

Ramona Senior, head of YHROCU, said: “By working in partnership with UK Border Force, we have made a significant disruption to the supply of harmful drugs coming into Yorkshire and the Humber.”