Litter pickers find huge haul of South American cocaine washed up on beach on south coast

Hundreds of kilos of cocaine believed to be from South America has washed up in holdalls along the south coast, some of it discovered by a litter-picking group. A huge haul of the drug was found in the sea off St Aldhelm’s Point and Durdle Door in Dorset on October 2 by a fisherman.

A second batch was found on a beach by litter-pickers on the west coast of the Isle of Wight on Saturday, the National Crime Agency said. Police are now trying to contact one of the group, a man in his 60s, who found the drugs.

Senior investigating officer Tracey Lake said: "We believe this a significant amount of class A drugs which would have originated in South America. A loss of a consignment of this size would represent a significant hit to the criminal networks involved."

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Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell, of Dorset Police, said: "Officers from our marine team, supported by colleagues from across the force and HM Coastguard have been working tirelessly with the NCA and Border Force to recover these suspect packages. Searches remain ongoing and I would ask anyone who finds a holdall or similar package in suspect circumstances to please not touch the item, but contact Dorset Police immediately."

Hampshire's Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Murray said: "We have been supporting the ongoing investigation with searches across the west Wight today, after a number of packages were discovered this morning by a group who were out litter-picking.

"This work is ongoing, and you will continue to see police throughout the evening and into tomorrow, and we would