Cocaine seized as Wallsend Christmas shopper returned to UK

Sean Hart told officers he was doing some Christmas shopping

A man has been found guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine with a street value of about £160,000 into the UK during a Christmas shopping trip with his wife.

Sean Hart , 48, of Wallsend, was stopped in his hired van at the Eurotunnel controls in Coquelles, France, in December 2016.

Hart told Border Force officials he had been on a trip with his wife to the Netherlands for gifts and a motorbike.

Officers then found two packages of cocaine concealed in the dashboard.

The drugs were hidden behind the dashboard of the hired van

The value of the cocaine, which weighed a total of 2kg, was worth an estimated £60,000 at wholesale price and £160,000 at street level.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Hart told officers he had travelled to Eersel in the Netherlands on 19 December 2016 to buy presents, as well as to collect bike parts for his family's hobby of motocross racing.

NCA operations manager Julie Booker said: "This was a blatant attempt to smuggle illegal drugs into the UK under the guise of travelling to do his Christmas shopping.

"Illegal drugs are at the root of considerable violence and exploitation, [and] we will continue to work with partners like Border Force to keep our communities safe by preventing Class A drugs from entering the country."

Hart, from Catton Place in Wallsend, was convicted of importing a Class A drug after a seven-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

A second defendant was found not guilty after the same trial.

Hart is due to be sentenced on 15 September.