Man arrested after £6m drugs haul

A 52-year-old Penkridge man has been arrested after customs officers discovered drugs worth up to £6 million.

Officers investigating the huge seizure of 45 kilos of heroin later found £13,500 cash at a Staffordshire address linked to the inquiry.

The massive stash of drugs was hidden under the passenger seat of a VW van stopped by officials, after leaving a cross-channel ferry from Antwerp in Belgium when it docked at Dover on Saturday. It is understood that one man was travelling in the vehicle at the time.

Neil Anthony Tasker, of Walhouse Place, Clay Street, Penkridge, was remanded in custody charged with smuggling heroin into the UK and money laundering.

Officials confirmed that £13,500 had been seized from an address in Staffordshire under the Proceeds of Crime Act in connection with the inquiry.

Tasker was remanded in custody to appear at Dover Magistrates Court on Thursday.