The men had ditched 11 bales of cocaine into the water. Border Force officials recovered six of them, worth about £18m.

The constable who conducted the recovery said the six recovered bails were significant, though not one for the records.

The supervising seargent was proud of his team’s recovery of 5 bailes but said recovery efforts were ongoing.

The chief of police praised the departments seizure of 3 bailes and said his force would continue to stand up for justice.

The superintendent of police chiefs decided to host a gala celebrating the seizure of a large bail of cocaine. The gala was expected to be attended by A list celebrities and members of the Royal Family. Celebrations were expected to continue until dawn.