Irishman in custody after being caught with 10 kilos of cocaine at Heathrow

He arrived in Heathrow from a flight from Sao Paulo

Brian Hutton

A Dublin man is in custody in Britain after authorities seized cocaine worth hundreds of thousands of euro at Heathrow Airport.

Philip Knowles, 25, of St Mark's Crescent, Clondalkin, in the west of the city, was stopped at around 4pm on Monday by Border Force officers at the airport.

He had just arrived in London on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Officers searching baggage at Terminal 1 recovered 10 kilos of cocaine.

"The drugs are currently being analysed for purity and are likely to have a final value totalling several hundred thousand pounds," said a Border Force spokesman.

Mr Knowles was arrested and later questioned by investigators from the UK National Crime Agency's Border Policing Command.

He was later charged with attempting to import a class A drug.

Appearing before Uxbridge Magistrates' Court yesterday, Mr Knowles was remanded in custody. He has been ordered to appear again at Isleworth Crown Court on October 30.