Public urged to help catch gangs bringing drugs on ‘mother ships’ to UK coast

Crime agency says there were more than 60 investigations into at-sea drop-offs last year with 34 people arrested

• How a high-speed ocean chase led to an £18m cocaine seizure in Cornwall

Law enforcement agencies have urged people living in coastal communities in the UK to help them catch drug gangs that are using ever more imaginative methods to get vast quantities of cocaine into Britain.

They have warned that gangs are favouring a method called “at-sea drop-offs” (Asdos) in which packages of drugs are released into the ocean from “mother ships” for smaller vessels to pick up and take into the UK via small coves and harbours.