Two men have been charged after £16 million worth of cocaine was seized by police from a warehouse in Blackburn.

Saleem Chaudhri, 45, of Waters Edge, Blackburn, and Fazle Ahmed, 30, of Copley Avenue, South Shields have been charged with possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

The haul, which has since been removed for testing, was recovered from a property in the town on Wednesday (May 3) and according to Lancashire Police, the find is one of the biggest ever drug seizures in the county.

A spokesperson for the police said today (Friday May 5): "Yesterday we told you that we had seized cocaine with an estimated street value of £16million from a warehouse in Blackburn.

"The haul, which has since been removed for testing, was recovered from a property in the town on Wednesday.

"We arrested two men as part of our enquiries.

"Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, two men have been charged with possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

"They are Saleem Chaudhri, 45, of Waters Edge, Blackburn, and Fazle Ahmed, 30, of Copley Avenue, South Shields.

"Both men were remanded into custody to appear before Blackburn magistrates this morning."

The seizure was part of Operation Warrior, the police’s response to tackling serious and organised crime in Lancashire.

On Thursday, Assistant Chief Constable Sam Mackenzie, said: “This is a significant seizure and marks our commitment to tackling organised crime.

"Lancashire should not be seen as a safe place for drug traffickers to operate.

“This is evidence that drugs are trafficked into Lancashire and that is why we are putting additional resources into targeting this type of activity.

“I hope this seizure encourages the public to report any suspicious activity to us, confident that we will act on it.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting log 850 of May 3, 2023