Two men have been charged in connection with the importation of drugs after Customs men smashed a plot to bring cocaine with an estimated value of £32m into Britain through the Channel Tunnel.

Customs and Excise believe the haul is one of the largest destined for the Tunnel to be intercepted.

The men were stopped at Coquelles near Calais as they passed through Customs checks before they were due to board Le Shuttle car train on Friday.

Frank Ferguson explains the seizure (Dur: 1-46)

Their Land Rover was searched and a haul of 160 kilos (342 lbs) of cocaine was found in the car's wheels.

The men, one from Cleckheaton and the other from Dewsbury, both West Yorkshire, were taken to Leeds for further questioning.

Frank Ferguson, Senior Investigation Officer with the Customs and Excise National Investigation Service, said 40 kilos of cocaine were concealed in each of the four wheels of the vehicle.

Incisions had been made in the hubs, and the vehicle was robust enough still to look normal and drive properly.

Mr Ferguson said this was an extremely unusual method for concealing drugs.

"Drugs have been hidden in wheels before, but they are usually in the spare wheels," he said.

"It was a very professional method of concealment."

Customs officers say the most popular method of smuggling drugs is by swallowing packages or hiding them inside their bodies.

The Channel Tunnel is said to be becoming the fastest-growing route for drug trafficking. Seizures of drugs under the Channel have doubled in the last year.

Mr Ferguson said this was one of the largest seizures ever made.

The largest British seizure on record had a street value of £250m. It was found in drums of bitumen in a steamer calling at Birkenhead, Merseyside, in February 1994.
 

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