A Polish lorry driver transporting a load of Kim Kardashian Skims underwear and clothes has been jailed for secretly hiding £7 million of cocaine in the back doors of the HGV.
Jakub Jan Konkel, 40, was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday for drug smuggling.
He was stopped by Border Force at Harwich port in Essex on September 5 last year, having travelled on a ferry from the Netherlands.
The lorry was carrying a load of 28 pallets of Skims clothing, but unbeknownst to the importer or exporter, Konkel had stopped en route to collect 90kg of cocaine.
The class A drug was wrapped in 1kg packages, which were hidden in a compartment in the skin of the rear trailer doors.
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In the interview, Konkel admitted that he had agreed to transport the cocaine for a payment of £3,914.
NCA operations manager Paul Orchard said: ‘Organised crime groups use corrupt drivers like Konkel to move class A drugs, often hidden on entirely legitimate loads such as this.
‘The detection and investigation have removed a significant amount of cocaine whose profits are lost to the crime group behind the smuggling attempt, and with Konkel, they’ve lost an important enabler.’
Border Force assistant director Jason Thorn said: ‘These drugs destroy lives and inflict misery on our communities.
‘This significant interception is testament to the brilliant work of Border Force, depriving criminal networks of millions in profit.’
Earlier this year, an American coast guard crew seized more than 1.7 tonnes of cocaine worth more than £21million.
The crew of the Cutter Tampa brought ashore the mammoth haul on Thursday at Base Miami Beach following two separate interceptions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The amount of cocaine is enough to kill 1.4million people.
The seizures were carried out as part of Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard said, adding the scale of the bust highlights the ongoing threat posed by transnational drug trafficking networks.
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