ARRESTS have been made in Bournemouth and Poole after a haul of cocaine worth £40m was seized. 

The 500kg stash of cocaine was discovered in a rigid-hulled inflatable boat at Medmerry Beach, near Selsey in West Sussex, on August 19.

This week, a total of six men have been arrested in locations across England in a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.

A 39-year-old was arrested in Liverpool on Monday, October 7.

On Tuesday, October 8, NCA officers arrested a man, aged 38, in Peterborough, a 45-year-old in Bournemouth, a 41-year-old in Poole, and a man, aged 36, in Tilbury in Essex.

On Wednesday, October 9, a 39-year-old was arrested at Luton Airport.

This week’s arrests take the total arrested in connection to the cocaine importation to 12.

All the men have been released on bail.