Man Charged Over Southampton Cocaine Seizure

19 July 2011, 13:14 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A man from Jamaica has been charged with attempting to smuggle around £80,000 worth of cocaine into the UK via Southampton Docks.

Anthony Spence, 45, of Montego Bay, was arrested on Sunday (July 17) after arriving on the MV Grand Princess, a cruise liner operated by Princess Cruises.

The drugs were discovered in a pair of training shoes carried in a rucksack. Approximately two kilos of cocaine was found.

Spence was charged with attempting to import a class A substance, and appeared before Southampton Magistrates Court on Monday 18 July. He was remanded in custody and will appear at the same court for a committal hearing on Thursday 18 August.

Tim Fleming, senior investigating officer from the UK Border Agency's Criminal and Financial Investigation unit at Southampton, said:
 
"As this detection shows, our officers are on constant alert, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to keep class A drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.

"We are determined to prevent this terrible trade which can have such a destructive impact on the lives of so many."