A man from the Highlands has been charged with drug offences after £4.4 million of cocaine was seized from a pickup truck in England.
Michael Buttery, of Kinbrace in Sutherland, was arrested and later charged, after a joint investigation between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Metropolitan Police.
Detectives and NCA officers recovered two large bags that contained 55kg of what was believed to be cocaine in a silver Ford Ranger.
It was travelling on the M25 between junctions 10 and 11 in Surrey when law enforcement officials stopped it and made the discovery on Friday December 16.
The haul has an estimated street value of around £4.4 million, the NCA has revealed.
In the dock
Buttery, 53, faces a single charge of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
He appeared at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was remanded in custody to reappear in the dock next year.
Andrew Tickner, Organised Crime Partnership operations manager, said: “This was a significant amount of drugs which have been stopped from reaching the streets as a result of this operation.
“Working with our policing partners we are determined to target and disrupt the organised criminal groups who bring violence and exploitation into our communities.”
Buttery will next appear at Guildford Crown Court on January 19 next year.
