It’s been a year since a large quantity of cocaine was found washed up on the Isle of Wight coast, but the National Crime Agency is still yet to confirm how much was recovered and its value – thought to be in the millions.
It was on Saturday 7th October 2023 that numerous packages of Class A drugs washed up on the shore between St Catherine’s Lighthouse and Isle of Wight Pearl, sparking a major operation in the South Wight.
A large emergency service presence was seen at either end of the search area as Police sought to swiftly and safely locate and seize what was later confirmed to be uncut, high-purity cocaine.
Tackling things from the sea, the Royal Navy boat HMS Severn was drafted in to patrol the waters whilst the National Police Air Service helicopter kept an eye from the skies above.
In the days that followed, more floating packages were found by fishermen and paddleboarders off the coast of the West Wight. Packages were also discovered on the West Sussex coast.
Some 3 weeks later, on 28th October and as first reported by Island Echo, further packages were discovered at Whale Chine. Whilst not believed to be as large as the initial haul found just a few weeks earlier, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary worked alongside HM Coastguard and Border Force to traverse the clifftops and recover the illicit substance.
On both occasions, the haul was quickly moved by an Armed Police convoy to Cowes – under the cover of darkness – before then being transported to the mainland amid fears that the ‘owner’ of the illegal substance would do whatever they could to get them back, including potentially attacking Police.
At the time of the incident, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said that a loss of a consignment of this size would represent a significant hit to the criminal networks involved, however, the NCA never gave an estimated ‘street value’ of the drugs seized, nor its metric weight.
Island Echo has contacted the National Crime Agency on numerous occasions to ask if there have been any arrests made in the 12 months since the drugs were initially discovered, however, the National Crime Agency has yet to respond.
As part of their investigations, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has made several arrests – including that of a man who stashed a brick of cocaine at St Catherine’s Oratory – however those arrested have since been released, with no further action to be taken against them.
