A driver who attempted to smuggle £2.9million worth of cocaine in a lorry transporting lego has been jailed for nine years and nine months.
Feruz Kadirov, from Uzbekistan, was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday after admitting to smuggling the drugs, in a legal shipment - due to be delivered to a shop in Corby in Northamptonshire.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said 35 kilograms of cocaine was found hidden under the mattress in the 33-year-old's bunk.
It was also found behind the outer fridge motor.
The NCA said Kadirov was stopped by Border Force officers on July 17 in the Eastern Docks in Dover.
He had been travelling from Belgium with 50 pallets of a legitimate Lego consignment.
Officers found 20 cocaine blocks weighing 1 kilogram under his mattress and 15 more behind the outer fridge motor.
NCA Operations Manager Tracey Gasson said Kadirov was a "crucial member" of an organised crime group.
The National Crime Agency said greed was at the centre of offences like this
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"Removing and destroying the drugs also deprives the [organised crime group] of profits which cannot now be put back into other criminal conspiracies," she said.
"Greed is at the absolute centre of these offences.
"Drugs gangs don't care about all the horrific effect they have on our communities.
"And the lives they wreck."
The lorry driver was jailed for nine years and nine months
|NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY
Accordng to Statista, there were 203,950 drug offences in England and Wales in 2024/25.
That compared to 182,370 in the previous year.
The Government, through Security Minister Dan Jarvis, signed an agreement with Ecuador earlier this year to affirm international commitment to crackdown on organised criminal gangs.
According to the Government, Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine producer while Ecuador has emerged as a key smuggling route.
The Home Office International Operations, Border Force officers and UK law enforcement have been stationed in Colombia and Ecuador.
Officers have provided training, equipment and support to enhance the capabilities of South American law enforcement – better preventing cocaine from reaching British borders.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the UK will "not tolerate criminal gangs exploiting international routes and bringing harmful drugs into our communities".
"That’s why this government is deepening our security partnerships with Colombia and Ecuador to strengthen our frontline fight against organised crime," he added.
"Our agreement marks a step forward in our international efforts to prevent drugs reaching the UK.
"We are making strong progress on this with cocaine seizures by Border Force in England increasing by 75 per cent since last year.
"As part of our Safer Streets Mission, we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to prevent cocaine from crossing our border and strengthening our security, a cornerstone of this government’s Plan for Change."