A Lithuanian lorry driver has been jailed for nine years after being found guilty of smuggling 24 kilos of cocaine worth £1m into the UK in his cab.
Robertas Trimailovas, aged 46, of Alytus, Lithuania, was stopped at Dover’s Eastern Docks on 5 April this year.
Border Force officers searched the cab of the Lithuanian-registered lorry and found the cocaine hidden in three separate spaces in the lining surrounding the driver’s bunk bed.
The Border Force estimates the drugs would have been worth around £1m if sold on the streets of the UK.
Trimailovas was interviewed by NCA officers and subsequently charged with importing a Class A drug. He pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court last week, and was sentenced to nine years at the same court this week (14 May).
NCA Dover Branch commander Martin Grace said: “Drug runners like Trimailovas should be in no doubt about our determination to catch them and bring them to justice.
“Class A drugs bring violence and exploitation to our communities, and working with partners like Border Force we are committed to disrupting the organised crime groups involved.”
