Border force officers have foiled an attempt to smuggle £1.8 million worth of heroin and cocaine into the UK.

Officers at Dover's Eastern Docks stopped a Polish-registered lorry on Saturday and found 16 wrapped packages concealed in strap lockers in the back of the vehicle and in the fifth wheel.

About 15 kilos of heroin and four kilos of cocaine was discovered.

Border force regional director Dave Smith said: "This was a significant seizure by border force officers, who have prevented a large amount of dangerous Class A drugs from ending up on the streets of the UK.

"Every year Border Force officers seize class A drugs worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Working with law enforcement colleagues like the National Crime Agency (NCA) we are determined to prevent drug trafficking."

A Polish national was arrested and the investigation passed to the NCA. He was later released under investigation while NCA enquiries continue.

NCA operations manager Richard Bowen said: “We estimate that this seizure would have had a potential street value of around £1.8 million, once the drugs had been cut and sold on.

“Drug trafficking is a major source of revenue for organised crime groups, many of whom are involved in multiple crime types. Seizures like this deprive them of those profits and we are determined to do all we can to disrupt their activity at every point in the supply chain. Our investigation continues.”

Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to smuggling should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or go to https://www.gov.uk/report-smuggling

To get the latest updates in ongoing cases, police appeals and criminals put behind bars, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Dover