Man charged with series of drug offences after £8m worth of cocaine discovered in lorry container

A man has been charged following the discovery of £8 million worth of suspected Class A drugs in a lorry container in Haverhill.

Officers were called at 10.50am on Friday, March 3, to a premises in Iceni Way, where a container was being unloaded.

A hidden void was found inside the container, within which numerous packages of white powder were found.

The container was subsequently transported to a secure location to enable a thorough search and forensic enquiries to be carried out. Following this, 80 packages of cocaine were recovered, with a potential street value estimated at more than £8m.

A 48-year-old man was arrested at the scene in Haverhill and taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

Vitali Macari, of Iasi, in Romania, was subsequently charged with being concerned in carrying/concealing/dealing cocaine, with intent to evade prohibition on importing.

Macari appeared before Ipswich Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Monday, March 6, where he was remanded in custody pending an appearance at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday, April 3.

Suffolk Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit will be conducting the investigation into this discovery, with assistance from colleagues in the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit and the National Crime Agency.