Newport Man Jailed For 16 Years For £2.4m Ecstasy Haul

A Newport man who tried to flood the UK's streets with 165 kilos of Ecstasy tablets worth £2.44m was jailed for 16 years yesterday.

Leong Paul, a 56 year old lorry driver from Newport, Gwent picked up the class A drug from a service stop near Antwerp in Belgium, which he then attempted to smuggle into the UK through Dover hidden in his lorry.

When HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) discovered his drugs stash as he was returning from a trip to Gottingen, Germany in April 2007 they began an investigation to prove that Paul, who had denied any knowledge of the drugs, had been intentionally involved in the smuggling attempt.

The evidence - which included mobile phone and doctored tachograph records - led to Paul being found guilty of smuggling following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court. Sentencing, Judge HH Adele Williams told Paul that he had attempted to smuggle a drug capable of causing serious harm, and on rare occasions even death. She added: "I am going to treat you as a courier tempted by a promise of a large amount of money by others behind this importation."

Malcolm Bragg, Assistant Director Criminal Investigation, HMRC said today: "Paul's only consideration was self enrichment by flooding the UK's streets with over 165 kilos of Ecstasy tablets. It was only through a detailed and professional investigation that his claims that he was unaware of the drugs stash were proved false."

The court was told that Paul was intercepted at Dover Eastern Docks early on 14 April 2007. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle. When questioned by HMRC officers, he claimed that his load was empty racking and that he was returning from a trip to Gottingen, Germany. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed 11 boxes at the front of the trailer containing 165.19kg of Ecstasy, leading to his arrest.

During interview Paul claimed to know nothing of the smuggling attempt. He claimed to have made a direct run from his drop off in Germany, and had not met anyone on the way home. Yet analysis of the vehicle tachograph showed that 75km of his return journey had not been recorded between Genk and Ranst, corresponding to investigations which suggested that he had indeed stopped at the Antwerp services.