Fishing boat carrying one tonne of cocaine intercepted off Cornwall coast

A fishing boat carrying approximately one tonne of cocaine has been intercepted off the Cornish coast in a “huge loss” for an organised crime group, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

NCA officers arrested four men and seized the drugs after the boat was stopped at sea near Newquay on Friday afternoon.

The four men have been arrested on suspicion of importing class A drugs.

Images supplied by the NCA show 17 brick-shaped packages in brown wrapping and two in dark wrapping, most with the label “pezx”.

The force also released a photograph of a blue and white boat named “Lily Lola”.

Derek Evans, NCA branch commander, said: “This is a significant amount of cocaine that will represent a huge loss for the organised crime group that attempted to import it into the UK.

“With our partners at Border Force and the Joint Maritime Security Centre, we have successfully removed this harmful drug consignment from the criminal marketplace.

“Its onward supply would have fuelled exploitation through county lines activity as well as serious violence and knife crime.

“Our investigation into this importation continues.”