Yet another lorry driver has been jailed for drug smuggling, in this scenario 42-year old Graeme Berry of Penrith, Cumbria who has been sentenced to six years.
Plymouth Crown Court heard that he was caught trying to transport £1m worth of cannabis into the UK, hidden among 22 pallets of mayonnaise. He was blocked at Plymouth docks after arriving on a ferry from Spain on 2 September 2008.
Graeme is not the first and it is unlikely he will be the last who pays the price for contributing to Britain's drug culture. Other recent cases include:
- 47-year-old Kevin Benjamin Jones of Welling, Kent jailed for seven years for smuggling £89,000 worth of cocaine into the UK.
- 32-year-old Polish driver Gracjan Zientara jailed for eight years after 34 boxes of amphetamines were discovered in his truck.
I am sure in the same way the strain of the recession is affecting many, a large quantity of cash would be appealing to anyone, however it is criminal gangs who will benefit from drugs sales, while a lorry driver is at the bottom of the chain and becomes the first immediate suspect.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) told me that every day 40% of freight travelling to the UK is checked, so to smuggle drugs is a risky game with a high opportunity of getting caught.
Bob Gaiger, spokesman for HM Revenue & Customs says:
"Our investigators, and their UK Border Agency colleagues, are determined to stop drugs entering the UK and reduce the associated harm to our communities."
As these hefty prison sentences demonstrate, the judicial system is showing no slowdown in its crackdown on drugs, and the UKBA confirms it is on track to increase its frequency of checks, meaning those carrying out crimes are at further risk of being caught.
An example of heroin seized by the UKBA from a truck.