Smuggler caught with two kilos of cocaine expertly concealed about his person

A passenger in a lorry who smuggled cocaine by strapping packages of the drug to his body has been jailed for six years. Alan Hughes, aged 48, from Prestwich, Bury, pleading guilty to smuggling two kilos of cocaine into the UK.

The drugs had an estimated street value of £79,600. Hughes was travelling as a passenger in a UK registered lorry that had arrived on a ferry from Dunkirk on February 15th when it was stopped by UK Border Agency officers at Dover’s Eastern docks. Officers initially searched the vehicle and then searched Hughes.



During the search officers found he had two packages taped to his body. On investigation the packages contained a white powder which gave a positive reaction to a test for cocaine. Hughes of Balmoral Grange, pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court on August 1st and was sentenced there yesterday. He pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition of controlled drugs.

UK Border Agency officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country. They use sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners - as well as visual searches - to find well-hidden stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and cigarettes.