Four men have today (Thursday) been charged with drug smuggling offences after cocaine worth £32m was seized at Southend Airport.

The men were from Somerset, North Yorkshire, West Sussex, and Lagos, Nigeria. Customs officers were still questioning a Serb man but a Southend man, who was arrested in connection with the seizure, was released.

Officials swooped on the 500 kilo stash of cocaine allegedly thrown from a Boeing 707 aircraft as it taxied on the runway after landing on Tuesday night.

Officials now believe the drugs - the biggest seizure from an aircraft in Britain - could have fetched up to £100m on the street.

Tests were today being carried out on the substance - but it is estimated at around 70 per cent pure, said Mr Fitzpatrick.

The street value of cocaine is around £60 per gram and, if diluted to around 30 per cent, the total street value of the seizure would soar. It would mean the haul uncovered at Southend Airport could have fetched around £100m.

For more on this story see today's Evening Echo

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