Border Force officers have prevented nearly £1.5 million in cocaine and ecstasy being smuggled into Britain.

They seized the drugs, which were hidden under a consignment of cheese in a lorry arriving at Dover Eastern Docks from the continent.

They found a total of 6kg of cocaine and 170kg of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.

Border Force officers and the port's inwards freight controls had stopped and searched a Lithuanian-registered lorry yesterday.

They found a number of brown boxes under the vehicle’s load of cheese.

The boxes contained a mixture of tablets, crystal type substances and white powder.

When field tested, the contents showed positive results for cocaine and MDMA. The drugs have a potential estimated street value of £1.49 million.

The investigation was passed to the National Crime Agency.

A 51-year-old Lithuanian was arrested on suspicion of the smuggling offence and was released under investigation while inquiries continue.

The drugs will now be sent for forensic analysis to determine the purity.

Paul Morgan, Director of Border Force South East and Europe said: “Every year Border Force officers seize Class A drugs worth hundreds of million of pounds. Working with law enforcement colleagues like the NCA we are determined to prevent drug trafficking and to prosecute those who would engage in this evil trade that destroys lives and damages communities.”

The government's Serious Violence Strategy, which was launched in April, aims to combat the impact drugs have on levels of serious violence.

It also highlights a strong link between drugs and violence and the related harm and exploitation from county lines.

Border Force work to stop drugs even coming into this country is a key part of this work.

Their officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.

Nationally, they use an array of search techniques, including sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners, as well as visual searches.

These are aligned to intelligence and are to detect well-hidden stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and tobacco.

Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to smuggling should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or go to www.gov.uk/report-smuggling