Lorry driver jailed over £5m cocaine find

Border Force officers discovered the cocaine in a hiding place within the cab

A lorry driver who attempted to import cocaine worth nearly £5m into the UK has been jailed.

Rimas Ekleris, 59, a Lithuanian national, was caught at Immingham Docks with 60kg of the Class A drug hidden in a secret compartment in his cab.

Phone recordings proved Ekleris had been "in on the plot from the start", investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

On Thursday at Grimsby Crown Court, he was jailed for 14 years.

Lorry driver Rimas Ekleris, 59, is originally from the Lithuanian city of Mirijampole

Ekleris had arrived at Immingham Docks in North East Lincolnshire on 19 August 2022, having travelled from Cuxhaven in Germany, a jury had heard.

Border Force officers, who had been provided intelligence by the NCA, searched the vehicle and discovered the cocaine in a purpose-built concealed area beneath the floor.

NCA investigators, working with the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, had obtained recordings of phone conversations that proved Ekleris had known about the packages, had collected them from a supplier and had been told how to open the hidden compartment, his trial was told.

The NCA said the wider organised crime group was subject to an ongoing investigation in Lithuania, which it was supporting.

Investigators found the purpose-built concealed area under the floor of the cab

Ekleris, from the city of Mirijampole, had denied fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of goods, but a jury found him guilty on 25 September 2023.

Carl Barrass, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the trial, Rimas Ekleris was found guilty and now faces several years behind bars.

“Work by NCA officers, and by our partners at Border Force, was instrumental in not only detecting the sophisticated concealment, but proving he was in on the plot from the start.

“Class A drugs ruin lives and we are determined to prevent individuals like Ekleris from fuelling drug supply chains, causing untold harm to communities up and down the country.”

Ekleris drove his lorry from Germany to the port of Immingham in North East Lincolnshire

Border Force director Danny Hewitt said: “Our officers played a pivotal role in detecting and seizing millions of pounds worth of cocaine which ensured this dangerous criminal was arrested and brought to justice.

“We remain committed to stopping dangerous drugs from entering the country."

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