Lancashire lorry driver jailed for Dover smuggling attempt

A lorry driver has been jailed for eight and a half years after admitting an attempt to smuggle 45 kilos of cocaine through the port of Dover.

Stephen John Newland, 49, was stopped by Border Force officers at 6pm on 6 July this year as he arrived at Dover's Eastern Docks on a ferry from France.

He told officers that he had not brought a load of any kind back to the UK and had been to France in order to transport a friend's personal effects from the north to the south of the country.

A search of the vehicle was carried out and packages, which tested positive to cocaine, were found in a false bulkhead in the cab.

Tests later confirmed the substance as 45 kilos of cocaine, which had a potential street value of up to £8 million.

Newland, of Manor Avenue, Burscough, was arrested and charged with being knowingly concerned in the importation of a controlled drug.

He admitted the charge on Tuesday (11 September 2012) at Canterbury Crown Court and received an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence on the same day.

Malcolm Bragg, of Border Force, said: "The sentence handed to Newland should serve as a warning to anyone tempted to smuggle drugs into the UK.

"Border Force is determined to keep Class A drugs and other banned substances out of the country.

"Along with our law enforcement colleagues in the UK and around the world we work hard to stop drugs reaching our streets and causing damage to our communities."