Three heroin smugglers jailed for 28 years

Three men from Latvia have been sentenced to a total of 28 years for attempting to smuggle approximately one kilo of heroin into the UK through Dover. The drugs had an estimated street value of £45,000.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that on 29 March 2011 UK Border Agency officers at Dover's Eastern Docks stopped a Latvian registered Volvo being driven by Vladimirs Kancukovs and with a passenger Anatolijs Lebedevs.

After questioning both the men the vehicle was searched by officers who found a package containing the heroin hidden in the front bumper.

A third man Andrejs Potapovs, who arrived separately at the foot passenger controls shortly after the car was intercepted, was stopped and questioned by officers. Evidence found in his baggage linked him to the attempted heroin importation.

After a trial at Canterbury Crown Court a jury found both Kancukovs and Lebedevs guilty on Wednesday 21 September and they were both sentenced to 10 years imprisonment the same day.

Potapovs had pleaded guilty at a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on 13 June and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment at the same time as his fellow smugglers.

Malcolm Bragg, UK Border Agency's Criminal and Financial Assistant Director, said: "The sentence handed down today should act as a warning to those who attempt to smuggle illegal drugs into this country.

"The seizure of these drugs reflects the robust controls we have in place at the UK border which are backed by dedicated criminal investigation teams.

"Heroin use destroys not only the lives of individual users, but also their families and the wider community."

The UK Border Agency will look to remove the three men from the UK once their prison sentences are served.