Man charged after cocaine and heroin seized at Eastern Docks

A Lithuanian man has been charged with drug smuggling after Border Force officers at Dover's Eastern Docks seized approximately seven kilos of heroin and six kilos of cocaine.

The drugs, once cut and sold on the streets, have an estimated potential value of over £600,000.

The drugs were discovered on Thursday (13 March 2014) when officers stopped and searched a British-registered van and its load of wooden pallets.

Arunas Kaulavicius, 49, appeared at Dover Magistrates Court on Saturday 15 March, charged with the importation.

He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody. He will next appear at Canterbury Crown Court on 31 March.

The case has been passed to the National Crime Agency for further investigation.

Paul Morgan, Director of Border Force South East and Europe said: "This is an excellent seizure of extremely harmful drugs and I would like to pay tribute to the vigilance and hard work of the officers involved.

"We will continue to work hard to keep our borders safe and crack down on drug smuggling."