A half tonne of cocaine worth £40 million on the streets has been seized – hidden in a ship full of bananas.

The discovery was made at the London Gateway port.

The Class A drug was brought into the country by a ship from Colombia.

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had tracked the consignment, knowing it was destined for Amsterdam.

Officers intercepted the vessel en route and seized the load.

Picture: NCA

Adam Berry, of the NCA, said:

“Taking out a consignment of this size will have been a huge blow to the criminal network involved in this shipment, preventing them from making millions of pounds that would have been invested in further criminality.

“Class A drugs are pedalled by gangs involved in violence and exploitation in our communities.

“The NCA works hard with partners to stop drugs getting that far, and making seizures like this demonstrate how we can break that link between international drug cartels and street-level dealers.”