Goods taken from Customs warehouse 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 officers include 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 or has been improperly accounted for. Acting chairman of HM Revenue and Customs David Hartnett has given MPs on the public accounts committee fuller details.
Mr. Hartnett said: 'An amount of cocaine - 1.5kgs - is missing from the secure lock-up. What I don't know at the minute is whether it 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 ten people.' He dismissed suggestions that other items including ammunition, passports and firearms had also gone missing 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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