Goods lost near Coventry Airport confirmed to include 1.5kgs of cocaine
20.12.07
Goods that have vanished from a secure lock-up near Coventry Airport after being seized by customs officials included 1.5kgs of cocaine, it has been revealed, but reports that other items including guns and passports were also missing have been dismissed.
The disappearance happened earlier this month but only came to light at the weekend. It is not yet known if the haul was stolen. Acting chairman of HM Revenue and Customs David Hartnett has given MPs on the public accounts committee fuller details.
He said: 'An amount of cocaine - 1.5kgs - is missing from the place it should be in a secure lock-up. What I don't know at the minute is whether this cocaine has been sent for destruction, or to a court or to a forensic science laboratory and the paperwork has not been done properly or it has been stolen. I am very worried if it is the latter.'
Asked how many people knew the passwords for the lock-up, he said: 'To the best of my knowledge, fewer than 10 people.' He dismissed suggestions that other items such as ammunition, passports and firearms had been involved as being 'just plain wrong' and insisted the cocaine loss was a one-off and not evidence of any system failure.
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