Drugs worth hundreds of thousands of pounds were seized as border officials swooped three times in three days.

Officers foiled three smuggling attempts at Dover and the Channel Tunnel at the end of last week.

On Friday a Czech-registered van was stopped and 49 CS gas canisters were discovered.

The following day at Dover around 120 kilos of amphetamine and eight kilos of cocaine - with a street value of around £400,00 - were found hidden in a lorry.

Both the driver of the van, a 32-year-old man from the Czech Republic, and the lorry driver – a 55-year-old man from The Netherlands - have been bailed.

Then on Sunday the driver of an Irish-registered Nissan was stopped at the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles, France, when around nine kilos of cannabis were seized.

The driver, a 31-year-old man from Poland, was charged with the attempted importation and appeared at Folkestone Magistrates yesterday, where he pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody.

Investigations into all three cases are ongoing.

Carole Upshall from Border Force said: "Border Force officers are on constant alert to keep illegal drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.

"Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling should call the hotline on 0800 59 5000."