Moment six Brits are arrested after record £65million cocaine stash is found in Brazilian warehouse

Six British men were arrested in Brazil after police seized more than four tonnes of cocaine worth £65million. The men were detained in Balneario Picarras, in the state of Santa Catarina, on Brazil's south-eastern coast after a month-long investigation.Police discovered 4,426kg of cocaine hidden inside a warehouse, in what authorities described as the largest seizure of the drug in the state's history, estimated to be worth around £65.7million. Footage shared by local authorities showed the handcuffed Brits being escorted into police vehicles. They appear to cover their faces with their clothes from the cameras. Separate video shows dozens of plastic-covered blocks containing cocaine stacked on top of each other. A police officer appears in the footage opening one of the packages with a knife as a white powder pours out. Investigators said they had been monitoring suspicious movements involving a white van for several weeks before making the arrests.The vehicle was regularly parked in an isolated area overnight before being driven around during the day.Police became suspicious after noticing people arrive in two hired cars, a Hyundai Creta and a Nissan Kicks, before transferring to the van and driving elsewhere.Footage shows the handcuffed Brits being escorted into police vehicles after their arrested They appear to cover their faces as they are led into the vehicle Image shows stacks of drug-filled packages after they were seized by police Both rental vehicles were traced to two British nationals, prompting investigators to increase their surveillance.During the 72 hours before the raid, officers monitored the vehicles in shifts and used drone footage to establish a connection between the van and a warehouse.Investigators noticed that five people repeatedly arrived in the rental cars, left them parked, and used the van to transport materials to the building, with the journeys taking place around 9am and 4pm each day.Officers initially considered whether the group might be transporting food products, such as refrigerated chicken, but checks on the warehouse's electricity consumption showed it did not have the facilities needed for cold storage.Police eventually stopped the van as it was leaving the warehouse and found around 5kg of cocaine inside, alongside rubber materials used in the manufacture of tyres and inner tubes.The five occupants were detained, while officers requested access to the warehouse, where they discovered a sixth British man guarding the shipment.Inside, police found pallets wrapped in plastic film and concealed beneath rubber materials, as well as large quantities of bleach.Investigators suspected the strong chemical smell could have been intended to make it harder for sniffer dogs to detect the drugs.Officers then discovered the cocaine in a shipment stored at the back of the warehouse.One suspect, who appeared to be leading the group and spoke some Portuguese, reportedly told police there were around four tonnes of cocaine in that section.A specialist police dog unit was called in, and the animal detected further drugs.Officers used scales found inside the warehouse to establish the total weight of 4,426kg.Santa Catarina Civil Police chief Marcelo Sampaio Nogueira said the operation followed approximately a month of work by the anti-drugs unit in Itajaí.'This is a day on which the Civil Police of Santa Catarina have made history with what is the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the state in a single operation,' he said. Footage shows a cop discovering white powder inside of a plastic-covered package He added that the quantity could potentially represent the largest seizure ever made in a single operation in Brazil, although this had not yet been established.Nogueira said each kilogramme of cocaine could fetch approximately £14,870 in the UK, putting the potential value of the shipment at more than £65.7 million.All six British nationals were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic drugs.Police said the British Embassy had been informed of the arrests and the men had been allowed to contact their families abroad.Officers also seized mobile phones which will be examined as part of efforts to establish where the cocaine came from, where it was destined to go and whether other people were involved.Authorities have asked the courts to convert the arrests into preventive detention while the investigation continues.Nogueira said: 'We firmly believe there is a criminal organisation behind this, given the enormous financial value involved, but the investigation will establish whether it is a national or international organisation.'