A man from South East London has been charged with smuggling 30kg of cocaine from France to Essex. Errol Weir, of Shifford Path, Lewisham, as well as Anastasios Balian, of Milton Court, Cheshunt, were arrested on Thursday, March 20 when Border Force officers stopped a plane arriving into North Weald airfield, near Epping Forest.
A search of the plane uncovered bundles of drugs hidden underneath a seat, with the haul estimated to have a street value of more than £2m. The pair, aged 49 and 52, respectively, were taken into custody whilst a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation was completed.
They have since been charged with the important of Class A drugs and are expected to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court today (March 22).
NCA branch operations manager Paul Orchard said: “This was a significant quantity of cocaine with a likely street value in excess of £2 million. In making this seizure we have denied the profits of that to those involved, and prevented them from being used for further criminality.
“Working with colleagues at Border Force we are determined to do all we can to protect the public and disrupt the criminal networks involved in bringing narcotics into the UK. To do that we need the public’s support, and I’d ask anyone who lives or works near a small airfield to report any suspicious activity to the police.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Border Force seized and prevented 30kg of cocaine from causing harm on our streets, and are fully committed to disrupt the criminal networks behind this trade. We continue to work closely with law enforcement partners, including the NCA, to keep our borders secure.”
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