North Lincolnshire lorry driver jailed for £23m cocaine smuggling plot

Darryl Sellars pleaded guilty to importing a Class A drug at Grimsby Crown Court

A lorry driver who searched online for the best way to avoid sniffer dogs has been jailed after admitting smuggling £23m of cocaine into the UK.

Darryl Sellars, 33, was arrested as he returned from the Netherlands to the port of Killingholme in February.

Border Force officers found 290kg (630lbs) of cocaine hidden in a shipment of frozen mushrooms.

Sellars from Crowle, North Lincolnshire, was jailed for 13 and half years at Grimsby Crown Court.

National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators discovered he was in contact with other members of a criminal network in the run up to the smuggling attempt.

Examination of his computers found that he had searched the internet for "helpful tips when dealing with police sniffer dogs" and "how to conceal drugs from drug-sniffing dogs".

He was sentenced on Friday having pleaded guilty to the importation of Class A drugs at a hearing on 11 April.

The £23m worth of cocaine was hidden among a consignment of frozen mushrooms

Lee Stanton from the NCA said: "Organised crime groups need smugglers like Sellars to bring their contraband into the UK.

"His was an important role in a wider criminal network, and our investigation into that network continues.

"Working with partners like Border Force and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit we are determined to do all we can to target and disrupt the criminal groups involved in trafficking drugs into the UK."