Two Merseyside men have been held after police targeted an organised crime group suspected of smuggling 50 tonnes of drugs into the country.
Two men from St Helens, aged 54 and 37 and two men from Warrington, 55 and 54, have been arrested during a wave of dawn raids across the country.
The NCA said the , suspected of involvement, used Dutch and British front companies to import heroin, cocaine and cannabis into the UK through UK ports over an 18-month period.
They said the drugs were hidden within lorry loads of vegetables and juice.
In total thirteen men, aged between 24 and 59, were held during dawn raids today in London, Manchester, Stockport, St Helens , Warrington , Bolton, Dewsbury, and Leeds.
They were all held on suspicion of drug offences.
Four men and two women from Holland were also arrested in April 2019 by the Dutch National Police on European Arrest Warrants.
They are currently awaiting extradition to the UK.
The NCA intercepted three consignments in September 2018.
They contained 351 kilos of cocaine, 92 kilos of heroin, 250 kilos of cannabis and 1,850 kilos of hashish, with a total street value of more than £38 million.
Jayne Lloyd, NCA Regional Head of Investigations, said to the ECHO: “The NCA targets organised crime groups causing the greatest harm to the UK.
“Stopping criminals who don’t care about the damage they are causing in communities, and the children being exploited by County Lines drug dealing, is an absolute priority.
“We suspect these men were involved in an industrial-scale operation – the biggest ever uncovered in the UK – bringing in tonnes of deadly drugs that were distributed to crime groups throughout the country.
“By working closely with partners here and overseas, in particular the Dutch National Police, we believe we have dismantled a well-established drug supply route.”
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