Cocaine worth £90m found in banana shipment sent from Costa Rica

 Cocaine with a street value of £90m has been found in a banana shipment during an armed raid at a Kent port.

Six men – including a security guard – were arrested after 100 officers swooped at Sheerness port in the early hours of Monday.

A seventh man was held in Hertfordshire, said the National Crime Agency (NCA), which led the raid.

The 1.2 tonnes of cocaine seized at the port had arrived in the UK from Costa Rica.

All seven men have been charged with conspiring to import class A drugs.

They appeared before Medway magistrates on Tuesday and were remanded in custody until 18 January, when they are due to stand trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

IMAGE SOURCE,NCA

Image caption,

The drugs arrived to Sheerness from Costa Rica

Those charged are Michael Turner, 54, from Hertfordshire, Kyle Davidson, 30, and Danny Laird, 38, both from Buntingford, Hertfordshire, Ian Woodward, 33, from Ware, Hertfordshire, Joel McCaughey, 31, from Castlefield, Manchester, Darren Laurie, 50, of no fixed address, and Sam Elphick, 27, from Sheerness.

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