Four Dutch men have been charged with attempting to smuggle hundreds of kilos of drugs, including heroin and cocaine, into Britain inside a fake ambulance.
Men dressed as paramedics were arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers in a car park in Smethwick, West Midlands, on Tuesday.
Packages of drugs were found behind interior panels, in cupboards and under the floor of the vehicle, police said. Wraps of amphetamine and three holdalls containing thousands of what are believed to be ecstasy pills were also discovered.
The seizure of about 270 kilos of drugs followed a surveillance operation by the NCA officers, who watched as two men arrived in Birmingham in the ambulance on Tuesday morning and met two others.
The officers, who were assisted by West Midlands police, arrested four men at a car park on Hill Street in Smethwick. Two men from London who were seen leaving the car park shortly before the ambulance arrived were arrested nearby.
Brent Lyon, from the NCA’s armed operations unit, said: “This was an audacious plot. We believe the two men in the ambulance posed as paramedics to avoid unwanted attention when entering the country through Harwich. Our officers were ready and waiting though and stopped the drugs from being distributed to crime groups across the country.”
Four Dutch men – Olof Schoon, 37; Leonardus Bijlsma, 55; Dennis Vogelaar, 28; and Richard Engelsbel, 50 – were charged with drug offences and appeared at Birmingham magistrates court on Thursday morning.
All four have been remanded in custody until 2 July when they will appear at Birmingham crown court. The two men from London have been bailed pending further inquiries.
