British authorities have seized nearly 400kg of heroin from a shipping container berthed at Felixstowe, leading to three arrests.
The drugs, with a street value of roughly $48.5m (£40m) were hidden under a load of bathrobes and towels in a container that arrived in the port 1 August, according to the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).
"It is almost certain that some of these drugs would have been sold in the UK, fuelling violence and exploitation including what we see in county lines offending nationwide," said NCA regional operations manager Collin Williams.
"The heroin trade also feeds addictions that put users’ lives at risk, while giving rise to crime such as theft which make people feel unsafe in their communities."
According to maritime security firm Gray Page, the container originated in Oman and stopped at several ports before reaching the UK.
The NCA said the container was destined for Rotterdam. After removing the drugs from the container, authorities allowed the ship to continue its journey.
Once in Rotterdam, the container was trucked to Antwerp, under police surveillance.
On 5 August, the NCA said, Dutch police made two arrests as the truck was unloaded.
British authorities made a third arrest of a man from Bromsgrove, who is currently being questioned.
