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Beach-goers urged to watch out for suspicious boats smuggling cocaine from the Channel
17 June 2025, 10:22 | Updated: 17 June 2025, 11:14
Drug gangs in Channel a 'national security risk'
Coastal communities in southern England are being urged to report suspicious boats amid warnings that South American drug cartels are increasingly using British waters to smuggle cocaine into the UK.
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It follows an LBC investigation earlier this month which revealed international gangs are dumping floating packages of cocaine into the English Channel to be picked up by smaller fishing vessels.
Photos released by Border Force show the drugs wrapped in waterproof flotation devices fitted with GPS trackers and LED lights, allowing them to be thrown overboard from cargo ships and picked up by British smugglers.
Once ashore, the drugs are sold by county lines gangs, fuelling child exploitation, violence, and addiction.
One expert described the trafficking method as a ‘rising national security threat’.
Figures obtained by LBC show nearly £250 million worth of cocaine smuggled using this method has been seized between 2022 and 2024.
Responding to the findings, Border Force’s maritime director, Charlie Eastaugh, has warned that the threat from sea-based drug smugglers is ‘dangerous and rising’— but says the agency is becoming more effective at intercepting them.
Speaking exclusively to LBC, he said: “This is the organised crime gangs’ method of choice at the minute.
“Our success in interdicting and seizing cocaine is improving.
Read more: South American cartels target the Channel in £200 million plan to get cocaine into Britain
“We are becoming extremely successful at tracking these vessels – and we will identify and ultimately arrest individuals involved.
“We patrol 24/7 and people are risking lengthy prison sentences by getting involved in this kind of criminality.”
Mr Eastaugh also offered rare insight into how smugglers are tracked — and called on local residents to stay alert.
He said: “My message would be to look out for any suspicious activity — vessels coming and going at strange times, or crews that look out of place.
“Any sightings around those marina communities by the public are a really useful form of intelligence for us.
“It’s an opportunity for us to identify high risk, dangerous fishing vessels used as daughter crafts.
”He said one tell-tale sign is the use of satellite internet equipment like Starlink. Some of the boats used in smuggling operations are fitted with Starlink receivers — square white dishes mounted to the vessel that allow crews to track the GPS-equipped drug parcels.
His comments come as two men stand trial accused of smuggling more than £10 million worth of cocaine on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) off the Cornish coast.
The public can report suspicious activity anonymously to the UK Border Watch via the Crimestoppers website.
