Drug raiders made off with flour instead of cocaine

4 November 2009

Gang members who broke into a warehouse in Trafford Park, Manchester to retrieve their haul of smuggled cocaine escaped with 80 kilos of flour after SOCA officers switched the drugs.

The gang assaulted two guards in the break in, as they attempted to complete the last stage in a smuggling operation worth millions of pounds. They were unaware that the cocaine had been spotted by HMRC officers when they searched an HGV at Dover. SOCA substituted the cocaine, which was concealed in metal drill kegs, with flour and allowed the cargo to continue its journey to the warehouse. Eight people were subsequently arrested during raids carried out by SOCA in Manchester and Rochdale.