Cocaine haul seized

Feb 5 2008 By Mark Cowan

A COCAINE haul worth £500,000 on the streets of the West Midlands was seized as it was being smuggled though Birmingham Airport.

Eagle-eyed Customs officers found eight kilos of drugs hidden inside two suitcases on a flight that had arrived from Banjul, Gambia, via Brussels, on Friday.

A Customs spokesman said in its original form the cocaine was worth an estimated half a million pounds.

But the spokesman warned that its street value was is likely to double or even treble once it was ‘cut’ by drugs dealers.

Following the seizure, three people were arrested and two were subsequently charged with drug smuggling offences. Stanislav Sasmil, aged 24, from Estonia, and Sandra Marisa Soares da Rocha, aged 26 and from Portugal appeared before Solihull magistrates yesterday and were remanded in custody until March 3.

A third man from Austria, aged 53, was also arrested but has not yet been charged.

Steve Roper, Detection Manager for HM Revenue & Customs said: “Our officers have carried out a first-class operation to detect and seize this major consignment of cocaine destined for the streets of the UK.

"The success of this operation should send a clear message to organised crime gangs - our intelligence and detection skills are second to none.

“I would like to praise the efforts of our officers in stopping this powerful and harmful drug reaching the streets."