Man Charged With Smuggling Drugs

UK Border Agency officers in Dover have charged a 27 year-old man from the Republic of Ireland with drug smuggling.

Lukasz Rogaczewski, of Celbridge, County Kildare has been remanded in custody after appearing at Folkestone Magistrates Court on 23 May where he pleaded not guilty. He will next appear at Dover Magistrates Court on Thursday 26 May.

Mr Rogaczewski was arrested on 20 May 2011 at the inward freight controls at Dover's Eastern Docks. UK Border Agency officers had searched a Mercedes Sprinter van loaded with powdered baby milk. Officers found hidden within the tins approximately 45 kilos of herbal cannabis in vacuum sealed bags. The drugs have an estimated street value of £130,000.

Enquiries by UK Border Agency investigators are continuing.

Paul Booth, Border Force South & Europe Assistant Director for the UK Border Agency, said: "As this detection shows, our officers are on constant alert, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to keep drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.

"We are determined to prevent this terrible trade which can have such a destructive impact on the lives of so many.

"Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling should call our hotline on 0800 59 5000."

The UK Border Agency brings together hundreds of specially trained officers equipped with immigration and customs powers into a single force securing the UK border.  

Officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.

They also use an array of search techniques including detection dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners as well as visual searches to find well-hidden stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and cigarettes which would otherwise end up causing harm to local people, businesses and communities.