CANNABIS with a street value of £1.6million was discovered hidden inside a shipment of herbal tea in Basildon.

Police were called shortly before 12.45am on Monday, November 2, with reports of three men acting suspiciously in Josselin Road.

One man was arrested after he was seen carrying two boxes from the back of a lorry.

Two other men ran off before they could be detained and enquiries are ongoing to locate them.

On closer inspection of the boxes in the lorry, officers discovered a total of 200kg of herbal cannabis in packages hidden among packets of herbal tea.

Enquiries then established the rest of the tea consignment was in a distribution centre.

Officers searched those pallets and recovered another 150kg of cannabis.

A 48-year-old man of no fixed address was charged with theft from a motor vehicle.

He admitted the charges and was sentenced at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on November 5 to three months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He was given a 12-month supervision order and ordered to pay a £180 criminal courts charge, £80 victim surcharge and £145 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The man was also banned from driving for 12 months for a separate matter.

Police also arrested two men, one aged in his 40s from Bulgaria and another aged in his 60s from Lithuania, on suspicion of importing drugs.

They have been released on police bail until February, pending further enquiries.

Ds Mike Wilkinson, of Basildon CID, said: "A significant haul of cannabis has been taken off the streets.

"We are continuing our enquiries into where the drugs came from and where they were destined for.

"We are also still looking for the other two men seen acting suspiciously in Josselin Road on November 2.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Basildon CID on 101. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org