Two men have been jailed after attempting to smuggle 243 kilograms of cocaine into the UK on an empty passenger coach.
The coach was stopped and searched at Dover Docks in September last year.
Border Force officers uncovered cocaine with a street value of around £19.4 million hidden in a specially constructed wastewater tank.
Following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation, driver Christopher Bullows and his passenger Mark Tucker have been jailed for a total of more than 30 years.
Bullows, 50, of Lord Street, St Helens, claimed he had taken the coach to Belgium so that the air conditioning system, which was under warranty there, could be repaired.
He told NCA investigators that Tucker, 54, of Longshaw Street, Blackburn, was a friend and had come along ‘for the jolly’.
Inquiries showed that the air conditioning had been mended in the UK just months before the trip and the pair were subsequently charged with attempting to import class A drugs.
Bullows pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court in April, while Tucker was convicted by a jury in May following a five-day trial.
Tucker was jailed for 16 years and Bullows for 14 years and four months.
NCA Branch Commander Mark McCormack said: “This was a brazen attempt to smuggle a large amount of cocaine into the UK but it hasn’t ended well for Tucker and Bullows. Not only was their lethal cargo seized, they are now facing long spells in jail.
“Drugs smuggling is behind violence and exploitation in our communities, with vulnerable people often paying the highest price.
“We will continue to work with partners like Border Force to break the supply chains behind this despicable trade, and dismantle the organised crime groups involved.”
Dave Smith, Director of Border Force South East, said: “This is a significant sentence that sends a strong message that we will use every effort of UK law enforcement to disrupt criminal networks and stop drugs entering the UK.
“Working closely with NCA our investigations and intelligence worked to protect the UK borders from drug trafficking and bring those responsible to justice.”
The NCA’s investigation was aided by specialists from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), who helped obtain evidence about the coach’s travel patterns from its tachograph.
Marian Kitson, DVSA’s director of enforcement, said: “This is a brilliant example of interagency working. I’m incredibly proud of the role my colleagues have played in helping bring this case to a successful conclusion.
“Our usual work is to help protect people from unsafe vehicles and drivers. This work involved keeping people safe in a different way. By sharing our unique knowledge and skills on tachographs, we were able to assist the investigation and bring this drug smuggling to an end.
“This result builds on the good relationships we have with other agencies and can only benefit us all for future investigations.”
