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Two charged as £75m of cocaine found in banana boxes

Lucy ThorneSouth of England
News imageNCA Dozens of packages of cocaine piled up on the floorNCA
Almost a ton of cocaine was discovered hidden in pallets of bananas at Southampton Docks

Two men have been charged after a "massive" haul of cocaine, stashed among pallets of bananas, was seized at Southampton Docks.

Border Force officers discovered almost a tonne (943kg) of the Class A drug, with a street value of around £75m, during a raid.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the drugs were found in a container which had sailed from Nicaragua via Panama to Southampton.

Daniel Dumitru, 37, from Smethwick in the West Midlands and Andrew Smyth, 46, from Prenton, Merseyside, were charged with importing Class A drugs. They were due to appear at Southampton Magistrates' Court earlier.