Police discover 4.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in Gouda cheese

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 31 Oct, 08:20 · Archive

Lancashire Police uncovered a drugs conspiracy that smuggled 4.5 tonnes of cocaine into the UK concealed inside wheels of Gouda cheese.

A Blackburn industrial unit played a key role in a vast drugs conspiracy which smuggled 4.5 tonnes of cocaine into the UK hidden inside wheels of cheese, a court heard. The cocaine, with an estimated street value of more than £450 million, was imported through Dover and distributed across the north of England.

Investigators found the drugs network used Yaseen Business Centre in Blackburn as a distribution hub, where cocaine concealed inside Gouda cheese was unpacked before being supplied across the country. Police said Saleem Chaudhri ran the Blackburn operation, meeting couriers from Lancashire, the West Midlands, the North East and West Yorkshire who travelled to collect drugs for onward distribution.

The operation was exposed in May 2023 when Lancashire Police raided the Blackburn unit and discovered 217 kilograms of cocaine, some of it still hidden inside large blocks of Gouda cheese. Each cheese block had been hollowed out to conceal two 'bricks' of cocaine. The wider inquiry revealed that between December 2022 and April 2023, the organised crime group imported more than 123 tonnes of cheese into the UK.

Eighteen people have been convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs following two trials, with seven defendants sentenced this week and three more jailed on Friday.

How it is being reported

• £450m cocaine plot used Blackburn unit to unpack drugs hidden in Gouda cheeseA Blackburn industrial unit played a key role in a vast drugs conspiracy which smuggled 4.5 tonnes of cocaine into the UK hidden inside wheels of cheese, a court has heard.Lancashire Telegraph · 31 Oct, 07:28
• Watch incredible moment police discover 4.5 tonnes of cocaine in massive shrink-wrapped wheels of Gouda cheeseWatch: This is the moment Lancashire Police discovered shrink-wrapped wheels of Gouda cheese containing £450m cocaine.Chorley Guardian · 30 Oct, 12:18

In this story: Lancashire Police · Saleem Chaudhri · Yaseen Business Centre · Blackburn · Dover · West Yorkshire

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