Ketamine with an estimated street value of £1.4million has been recovered from a fishing boat in Suffolk.
Five men were arrested after National Crime Agency officers intercepted the MFV Girl Carole on the River Deben in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Covert teams watched as two men allegedly offloaded a number of boxes from the vessel into a waiting car at a dock in Ramsholt.
The containers were then taken to a storage unit 10 miles away in Rendlesham.
When investigators searched the warehouse, 200 kilos of the Class B party drug were discovered inside.
An NCA spokesman said the boat is alleged to have travelled from Amsterdam to the UK dock for the purpose of importing drugs.
Investigators worked closely with Dutch partners to monitor the Girl Carole as it left the Netherlands.
A deactivated shotgun was also found on the vessel.
A further amount of cannabis was found at home addresses of two suspects.
Richard Saul, 41, of Woodbridge, Sean Seymour, 58, of Beech Road, Saxmundham, and Domenic Labella, 19, of Beaconsfield Road, Ipswich were charged with being concerned in the importation and supply of controlled drugs.
They appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Monday and were bailed until a further hearing at Ipswich Crown Court on March 18.
Two others arrested on the boat were released on bail.
Ty Surgeon, NCA branch commander, said: “The discovery of these drugs is the result of a painstaking and long-running investigation into the trafficking of drugs through international waters into the UK.
“It is another fantastic example of the NCA working with partners, including the Dutch police and prosecutor’s office, to tackle the upstream overseas drugs trade and stop the importation of a huge amount of ketamine we believe was destined for the streets of the UK.
“Anyone who thinks they can smuggle drugs into the UK should know that we will do everything at our disposal to stop your endeavours and protect the public.”
