Two crates were filled with cannabis

Three men have been arrested after more than £8million of drugs were seized by the Metropolitan Police.

Police arrested three men after they collected three crates of drugs in Dagenham

Officers caught the men, aged 51, 50 and 57, yesterday after they collected three crates from a haulage company in Ripple Road, Dagenham. It is thought the haulage company unwittingly shipped the drugs to Britain from mainland Europe.

When police searched the crates they found two were full of skunk cannabis while the third contained amphetamine.

The 400kg of cannabis had a street value of £1.2m, while the 175kg of amphetamine had a street value of £7m.

The investigation targeting international smugglers, by the Met’s Central Task Force East, also involved EUROPOL and the French police.

Det Insp Rob Murray, from the Central Task Force, said: “The trade in illegal drugs is international and specialist Met officers worked closely with police across Europe as part of this operation.

“We have stopped a significant amount of drugs being sold on the streets of London and prevented criminals from making millions of pounds in the process.”

The three men, arrested on suspicion of drug importation, remain in custody.