Heathrow Airport saw the biggest cannabis seizure in three years after drugs were found by Border Force officers as they scavenged through containers arriving on a plane from Ghana.

The drugs, weighing around 1.5 tonnes and having a street value of £4.3 million, were found in three separate freight containers filled with fresh fruit and vegetables. Border Force officials found the cannabis in tape-wrapped compressed packages within boxes on the flight from Accra on Monday.

The drugs were then taken under armed escort to a secure location, where they would be stored until they set ablaze and destroyed. Marc Owen, Heathrow Director for Border Force, said, “This was smuggling on an industrial scale. It is a significant quantity of cannabis, our biggest seizure of this kind in several years at Heathrow. The fact we have stopped it reaching the streets of the UK will make a substantial dent in the profits of the criminals responsible.”

The Border officers are trying to investigate the intended destination of the drugs. There were many packages, so much so that, Border Force officers filled seven wheelie bins with the drugs, ready for incineration. 0800 59 5000 is the number to contact to provide any information regarding the destination of drugs.

Separately, Britain’s notorious drug smuggler John Brooks was sentenced to jail for 28 years on Monday at Birmingham Crown Court for conspiring to import class- A drug cocaine worth between £140 million and £150 million. After his sentence in the UK, he faces extradition to France to serve a 13-year sentence regarding a 4.2 tonne cannabis seizure in 1989.

Related:
Manchester Police killings: Suspect Dale Cregan scheduled to emerge in court
Manchester police killings: Police investigating feuding families role
Manchester Police Killings: PM David Cameron calls it an ‘absolutely despicable’ act