FOLLOWING the discovery of £90m worth of cocaine on a west Wales beach last weekend, police have deployed significant resources to searches.

This was following intelligence being received that more of the class A substance was out there waiting to be found.

Not wanting this to fall into the wrong hands, specialist police teams ensured that a significant area of land and sea has been searched.

Police said searches were carried out by land, sea and air resulting in “the discovery of a number of packages of what we suspect to be cocaine”.

A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police said: “We’ve been supported by neighbouring forces, the NCA and NPAS after packages of class A drugs were recovered from a beach in Ceredigion on Saturday (October 1).

“There have since been finds in a number of places along the coast, all of which have been seized by officers for analysis.

“Initial tests suggest the substance recovered is cocaine, however the packages will undergo further examination, which could take a number of weeks.”

A force spokesman told The Herald: “This has been a significant operation so far, which has involved a large amount of resources both from Dyfed-Powys, neighbouring forces and partner agencies.

“Since the discovery of a number of packages of what we suspect to be cocaine, ground, aerial and marine crews have all been dispatched to monitor the area in case there were further items at sea.

“We are aware that the public have seen a higher presence of police in the area than usual, and we would like to thank them for their vigilance, patience and support.

“The police presence will continue over the coming days, and we repeat our message that anyone who finds a package – or knows someone who has – should contact us immediately.

“The contents shouldn’t be touched, and partner agencies have been briefed on the risks associated with the possession of this find.”
Work is ongoing to establish how the bundles came to land ashore here and who they may belong to

On October 1, an unnamed project manager was walking along Tan-y-Bwlch beach, near Aberystwyth, when he came across the 30 black packages.

The packages were tied to empty jerry cans with rope to keep the Class A drugs afloat at sea.

The walker told The Ceredigion Herald: “I was out for my early morning walk when I saw something on the beach.

“I was intrigued and walked up to it and knew what it was almost straight away. An old lady called the police and they came around half an hour later.

“They cut open a bag and it looked like pure cocaine. They dragged it off the beach and took it away.”

A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police said last week: “We are investigating the discovery of a significant quantity of what is thought to be cocaine, spotted along the coast this weekend.”

“Enquiries are being undertaken to establish how such an unusually large amount of the controlled drug came to wash up on the Welsh shore, following recent storms.

“The precise quantity is still being established and at this time no-one has been arrested in relation to this matter.

“Officers have thanked those who found the packages and their sensible actions in reporting the matter immediately.”

The news comes after last month, over a dozen bricks emblazoned with a ‘Dior’ label washed ashore in the town of Biloxi, which sits on the Gulf of Mexico.

Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Steven Maxwell said of that haul: “There was likely to be a large amount of drugs that either fell off a vessel or they were intentionally dropped off to be picked up by someone else or another group of individuals.”

One man was arrested for allegedly trying to remove one of the packages.