The cocaine, wrapped in 15 packages, was found in boxes full of face masks when a Polish-registered van bound for Britain was searched, the interior ministry said. A 34-year-old Polish man was arrested.

“This seizure is further evidence of the way criminal networks are attempting to exploit the coronavirus outbreak to their own ends,” said Darren Herbert, the National Crime Agency’s operations manager for the port of Dover.

“We are now investigating who was behind this attempt, but what is clear is that they have taken a substantial hit. At UK street prices, this haul might have raised more than £1 million once adulterated and cut down – profit that they have now been denied.”

Ian Hanson, Border Force regional director at Coquelles, France, said such a seizure showed the lengths to which smugglers were willing to go.

Europe’s cocaine market is worth more than US$10 billion.

Global cocaine production rose to 1,976 tonnes of 100% pure in 2017 – the largest ever reported, according to the latest United Nations drug data. Production, mostly in Latin America, has risen 50% in the past decade.