ALMOST 40 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of £1.6million has been seized by police in north London.

A man and a woman were arrested after officers searched a house in Gordon Road, Finchley.

The two suspects, who are both Colombians, were taken to a police station in west London where they were quizzed by detectives.

Hector Holguin-Rojas, a 33-year-old cleaner of Finchley, N3, was later charged with possession of cocaine with intent to supply. He is due to appear before Magistrates in Brent.

A 20-year-old woman was bailed to re-appear at a police station at a later date.

The arrests were made by officers working for the Middle Market drugs project, a dedicated team of 70 officers targeting London's narcotics industry.

A police spokesman said that the project has seized 181 kg of cocaine; 0.8 kg of crack cocaine; 55 kg of heroin; 40 kg of amphetamine and 1.4 tonnes of cannabis since last November.

Detective Inspector Gary Townsend said: "This is an excellent result for the Middle Market team which has resulted in our 100th arrest and highlights our commitment to preventing substantial amounts of drugs from reaching the streets of London."