British authorities have seized nearly 400kg of heroin from a shipping container berthed at Felixstowe, leading to three arrests.

The drugs, with a street value of roughly $48.5m (£40m) were hidden under a load of bathrobes and towels in a container that arrived in the port 1 August, according to the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).

"It is almost certain that some of these drugs would have been sold in the UK, fuelling violence and exploitation including what we see in county lines offending nationwide," said NCA regional operations manager Collin Williams.