Ballymena lorry driver jailed for smuggling cocaine in potato load

Brian Anthony Hughes pleaded guilty in December

A lorry driver from Ballymena has been jailed for smuggling cocaine while delivering frozen potatoes from the Netherlands.

Brian Anthony Hughes, 30, was stopped in his lorry at Coquelles in France as he tried to enter the UK last October.

Eight kilograms of the drug, with a street value of £480,000, was found inside baggage and in a locker.

He was jailed for seven years and six months at Canterbury Crown Court, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

When Hughes was stopped, the NCA said he told UK Border Force officials he had been to Tilburg in the Netherlands.

It was found he had collected a legitimate cargo of frozen potatoes which were destined for the north-west of England.

After initially making no comment to police, Hughes pleaded guilty to importing a Class A drug in court on 2 December.

NCA branch commander Mark Howes said the quantity of cocaine which was seized "would generate significant revenue on UK streets" and represented "a dent in the profits of the organised crime group it was destined for".

"Criminal groups use smugglers like Hughes to bring their drugs into the UK and our message to anyone tempted to try and make what they may consider easy money through smuggling is that you will be caught," he continued.

"We work closely with our partners, including Border Force, to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the UK and will continue to prosecute those involved."