An Ilford plumber has been charged with drug offences after police stopped a van carrying an estimated £1 million worth of cannabis.

Andrew Fraser, 49, of Green Lane in Ilford, was arrested by Essex police following a routine stop check on a Transit van in Ockendon on May 20.

Officers found a crate in the van containing half a ton of cannabis resin with an estimated street value of £1 million.

Other drugs, including a large quantity of amphetamine with an estimated value of £300,000, were seized following searches in east London.

Fraser is charged with two counts of possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Another man, James Bailey, a 37-year-old taxi driver from Henshawe Road, Dagenham, faces a charge of possessing cannabis with intent to supply, possessing amphetamine with intent to supply and producing a controlled drug.

The men have been remanded in custody and will appear at Basildon Crown Court on July 28.