Gold bars worth more than £4million have been seized by UK authorities at Heathrow Airprt. Investigators launched the case after the haul, weighing more than 16 stone, was recovered by the Border Force following intelligence received by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
It was shaped in bars, cylinders and hearts and was en route from Venezuela to Switzerland via the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, reports The Mirror.
It was held under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and the NCA obtained a recovery order allowing investigators to take possession of it.
The gold was in the cargo section of a plane that had arrived from the Cayman Islands. It had been shipped on a private jet.
NCA officers worked closely with authorities in the Cayman Islands to prove a false paperwork trail had been created to hide the true origin of the gold, and that those involved in the movement of the gold had links to organised crime.
NCA Branch Commander Andy Noyes said: “Criminals are attracted to gold as a way of moving drugs money due to the high value contained in relatively small amounts.
“Our investigation showed this shipment was linked to drug cartels operating out of South America, but we were able to stop it reaching its final destination thanks to established links with overseas partners.
"This intervention has disrupted the criminal network, stopping them from reinvesting in further criminality that causes harm to our communities.”
