Drugs with an estimated street value of £120million have been found in a cargo of rice at the Port of Felixstowe.

Class A drugs heroin and morphine derivatives, weighing weighing a total of 1,196kg were seized from container ship, the 'Sembawang', at the port last weekend.

Acting on tip off, the National Crime Agency (NCA) were waiting for the ship when the ship docked in Suffolk en route to Antwerp, and found the haul worth approximately £21m wholesale and more than £120m at street level.

Border Force officials and NCA officers boarded the ship last Saturday, September 12 and removed the haul of drugs overnight before allowing the ship to continue its journey to Belgium, under surveillance by Dutch and Belgian law enforcement agencies.

The now empty container was driven by lorry to a warehouse south of the Hague, the Netherlands and law enforcement officers moved in and arrested the driver and two men involved in the unloading. Meanwhile, Thames Police arrested a 45-year-old male, suspected of being and organised crime game facilitator, on the M40.

Nikki Holland, NCA director of investigations, said: "This is a huge seizure, which has denied organised criminals tens of millions of pounds in profits, and is the result of a targeted, intelligence-led investigation, carried out by the NCA with international and UK partners.

"We know that a lot of these drugs would have ultimately been sold in the UK, through county lines networks.

"There is violent competition between rival organised crime groups at all stages of class A drug production and supply. The business model also involves the exploitation of vulnerable adults and children both in the UK and overseas.

Minister for Immigration Compliance and Courts Chris Philp said: "This was a large seizure of dangerous drugs and I would like to congratulate Border Force and NCA officers for their efforts."