A Spanish woman has been charged with smuggling 250 kg of cocaine and 9 kg of crystal meth in an industrial fruit-processing machine from Mexico into the U.K. Olivia Anton-Altamirano, 32, who was arrested from her home in Blackheath, south-east London, allegedly tried to smuggle the drugs estimated to have a street value of £22 m into the London Gateway Port, Essex, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA). The drug bust took place when the fruit processor was stopped by the Border Force officers (BFO) at the London Gateway Port who then broke into the machine after several hours of painstaking labor.

John Coles, the head of NCA’s specialist operations, said that the plot was laid out by the organized criminals and is a good way to smuggle Class A drugs into the U.K., which would then be sold on the streets of London. The drug bust was announced after Ben Wallace, U.K.’s security minister said that the country was becoming “the biggest consumer of cocaine in Europe.” As per the reports, Altamirano will enter a plea at Kingston Crown Court on June 7.

Tech-savvy investigators enabling more drug busts

The NCA chief acknowledged the role of tech-savvy investigators in making possible the increasing number of drug busts during this year. Coles also credited the combined efforts of a joint task-force and Metropolitan Police over the last five months.

Emphasizing the significance of drug busts, Coles claimed that drug seizures such as this one can go a long way in curbing the violence on the streets as well as reducing the number of children and others from being forced to transport drugs into Home Counties through violence and fear.

Cross-border drug trafficking is dangerous.

The U.K. is not the only nation to be hit by the menace of drug trafficking. In fact, the United States has for long been battling the same problem owing to the cross-border illegal drug trade between Mexican drug trafficking organizations and the U.S.

One must remember that abusing any form of drugs, medicinal or recreational, is dangerous and can lead to lethal outcomes like physical and psychological addiction, altered brain chemistry & functioning, poor heart functioning, heart failure, high blood pressure, etc. Despite the fact that drug abuse does not offer any benefit to an individual’s health, millions across the length and breadth of the U.S. are increasing falling prey to some or the other form of drugs. According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 28.6 million people aged 12 or older used an illicit drug in the past 30 days. Therefore, the need of the hour is to spread awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.

Fortunately, it is possible to treat an individual addicted to drugs. The most significant role is played by the addiction help center that plans and devises a 12-step program for addiction recovery. Therefore, if you know someone addicted to any form of drug, help him/her get in touch with an affordable rehab facility so that he/she may attain recovery.

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