British authorities seize more than two tonnes of cocaine in one of the largest busts | News on drugs

The United Nations report indicates that world cocaine trade is booming, with 25 million users worldwide in 2023.

The border authorities of the United Kingdom have seized cocaine with a street value of $ 132 million in a ship arriving from Panama.

Border Force Maritime Director Charlie Eastaugh said on Saturday that the massive transport of 2.4 tonnes of drugs entered at the Port of London Gateway near the capital was “one of the largest of its kind”.

The UK’s home office confirmed that transport, found under containers on a ship arriving from Panama, was the sixth crisis in recorded cocaine.

Specialized officers had detected the sending earlier this month after having carried out an operation led by intelligence, moving 37 large containers to put themselves on the hiding place.

The United Kingdom is one of the largest European markets for cocaine, according to the National Crime Agency. The British government claims that deaths related to cocaine in England and Wales increased by 31% between 2022 and 2023.

On Thursday, the United Nations Bureau on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said that cocaine trade was stronger in 2023, the last year for which complete data is available.

The annual world annual drug report from the Vienna -based agency has shown that cocaine was the “fastest illicit drug market in the world”, with Colombian Production that increases as a demand for medication is expanding in Europe and North and South America.

Around the world, the estimated number of cocaine users has also continued to grow, reaching 25 million people in 2023, against 17 million 10 years earlier, UNODC said.