Bristol driver who smuggled £800k heroin on Amsterdam trip jailed

18 tape-wrapped packages were found filled with a brown powder

A man who falsely claimed to be on a day trip to Dunkirk when he was picking up £800,000 worth of heroin in Amsterdam has been jailed.

Daniel Whereatt, 48, from Bristol, was stopped at Dover's Eastern Docks on 18 March 2019 on his return to the UK.

His car was searched by Border Force officers who found 18 tape-wrapped packages, after they noticed a strong smell of fuel inside the vehicle.

Whereatt has been sentenced to six years imprisonment.

Searching his car, officers removed the lining and cushions of the back seats and found packages filled with a brown powder submerged inside the fuel sender tanks.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers tested the powder and six kilos were found to be heroin with an estimated street value of £800,000.

Officers removed the lining and cushions of the car's back seats

The drugs were found in the fuel sender tanks

A further two kilos were found to contain paracetamol and caffeine, common cutting agents for heroin.

Whereatt told NCA officers he had been in Dunkirk for the day, sleeping in his vehicle before returning to the UK.

Phone analysis showed Whereatt had actually been in Amsterdam.

His DNA was also discovered on a screwdriver and metal file found next to the fuel sender unit where the drugs were found.

Whereatt pleaded guilty to importing six kilos of heroin and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday.

Mark Howes, branch commander at the NCA, said: "This was an attempt to bring potentially lethal drugs into the UK and generate hundreds of thousands of pounds from their supply to vulnerable people."

"Whereatt had only insured the vehicle for two days and we believe this was solely for the purpose of picking up the heroin in Amsterdam and bringing it back to his contacts at home.

"Heroin is a very dangerous drug and brings with it exploitation and violence. We will continue our work with Border Force and other partners to target smugglers like Whereatt and bring them to justice."