£4m in drugs siezed at Blackpool airport / four in court
28.02.06
Police and customs revealed £4m worth of cocaine was recovered in a major drugs bust at Blackpool Airport. As reported at the weekend, officers swooped on a plane and discovered an estimated 18kg (39lb) of the class A drug - stuffed inside a suitcase. Four men appeared in court over the smuggling operation today.
Three men - two from the North West and one from Germany - were arrested by officers as part of a joint operation by Blackpool Police and Customs and Excise. Officers boarded a light aircraft after it touched down en route from France.
Police - who confirmed the drugs recovered had a street value of up to £4m - said the haul was one of the biggest ever seized in Lancashire. Officers swooped at 20:45 on Friday after reports from Air Traffic Control that a suspicious aircraft was due to land at Blackpool airport.
The aeroplane - believed to have been chartered in Blackpool before travelling to France and then returning to the Fylde - was surrounded by police as it landed. Carl Fernandez, 23, of Wigan, Phillip Barton, 26, also of Wigan and James Horvat, 52, from Dortmund, Germany, all appeared before Blackpool magistrates today and denied charges of importing Class A drugs.
Mr Barton and Mr Fernandez were released on conditional bail. Mr Horvat was refused bail and remanded in custody. A fourth man is expected to appear before Manchester magistrates today in connection with the incident.
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