£300m cocaine find after raid on luxury yacht

A total of 1.2 tonnes of cocaine, with a 90 per cent purity, was found hidden inside a 65ft pleasure cruiser at Southampton docks.

It is the biggest haul of Class A drugs found in the UK, officials from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency said.

French authorities were alerted to the suspicious 1m craft Louise while it was in the Caribbean in May, and it was then tracked to Southampton, on its way to the Netherlands.

Officials spent six days searching the vessel and found the drugs packed in a specially designed compartment beneath the boat's bathing platform. The discovery has only now been made public.

It is understood the cocaine, which originated in South America, was packed inside the boat while it was in Venezuela.

The drug was 90 per cent pure, while the average purity of cocaine seized at the UK border is only 63 per cent, officials said.

The haul is estimated to be worth 50m wholesale and 300m on the streets.

Since the cocaine was found in June, the UKBA has helped Dutch police track members of the gang, and six men were arrested during early-morning raids yesterday - two 44-year-olds in Amsterdam, a 60-year-old in Meppel, two, aged 32 and 34, in Heusden, and a 27-year-old in Waalwijk.

Some €100,000 (87,300), two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, two firearms, a silencer and some Ecstasy were also seized.

Immigration minister Damian Green said: "This was a significant drugs seizure which was made possible by the co-operation of our international partners.

"UK Border Agency staff have shown vigilance, dedication and determination to uncover this shipment.

"We aim to protect society from the violence and corruption that always accompanied the trade in illegal goods."

Brodie Clark, head of the UKBA's border force, said: "This has been an enormous seizure of cocaine."

Asked how the drugs were hidden, he said: "It was ingenious - it was difficult to find. Skilful people spent a number of days looking for it."