Other finds included:
– 33 kilos of cocaine with a street value of £6.7million hidden in metal drums containing powdered nuts while in transit at Heathrow airport.
– £40,000 worth of cocaine was found hidden in a birthday card heading towards an address in Belfast.
– 10 kilos of cocaine were found hidden in yams on board a freight flight at Kent International Airport after being sent from Ghana. The yams were cut open and then glued back together with the drugs inside.
– At Gatwick Airport in March £270,000 worth of cocaine was found hidden in packets of peanuts and cashew nuts.
“Criminals are prepared to invest large sums of money to come up with ever better concealment methods because they know the potential profits from the awful trade in harmful drugs are considerable,” said the head of the Border Force Brodie Clark.
“However, the smugglers are no match for the skill of our officers and the state-of-the-art technology at their disposal,” he added.
Emmanuel Adebayor painting used to smuggle drugs
The most unusual find was a kilo of cannabis hidden in a framed painting of Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebeyor. The painting was sent from Togo to an address in Tottenham, north London, and was discovered at a postal hub in Coventry.