UK CUSTOMS SEIZE HALF A TONNE OF COCAINE

LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - British customs investigators seized half a
tonne of pure Colombian cocaine worth around 40 million pounds ($65
million) on Friday and arrested 13 men including two Brazilians.

Duncan McCallum, spokesman for the Customs and Excise National
Investigation Service told Reuters: "We believe we have disrupted a major
international trafficking organisation and this will have a significant
impact on the availability of cocaine in the UK."

The cocaine was seized in a dawn raid on a lockup garage in Leigh-on- Sea,
a town in Essex, east of London. The men were arrested later in southeast
England. "They were all British except for two Brazilians," McCallum said.

"One of the Brazilians was arrested at Heathrow airport as he was about to
board a flight to Brazil. He had 32,000 dollars concealed in his underpants."

The seizure was one of the biggest ever in Britain and followed an
investigation lasting more than a year.

($1.6150 Pound)