Man jailed for Dover Diazepam smuggling attempt

A Croatian man who attempted to smuggle £250,000 worth of diazepam tablets into the UK through Dover’s Eastern Docks has been jailed.
 
Blago Alpeza, 27, was arrested on the evening of 30 March 2018 after Border Force officers found 92 kgs of the Class C drug hidden throughout his Citreon C5. They had stopped the vehicle at Dover’s inward tourist controls.
 
Paul Morgan, Director of Border Force South East and Europe said: "Officers found blister packs of the tablets hidden within natural spaces in the chassis, in adapted areas around the bumpers and floor and in purpose built concealments in the engine area and fuel tank. There was hardly a space within the vehicle that was not being used by Alpeza in his criminal enterprise.
 
"It is illegal to possess diazepam without a prescription and there are serious risks to those who abuse the Class C drug. Results like this demonstrate the vital work Border Force officers are doing on the front line to keep dangerous drugs off the streets of the UK.
 
"Every year Border Force officers operating at the UK border seize drugs worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Working with law enforcement partners like the National Crime Agency (NCA) we are determined to prevent drug trafficking and to bring those responsible to justice."
 
After Alpeza’s arrest the investigation was passed to the NCA.  Alpeza, of no fixed UK address, was later charged with the attempted drugs importation. 
 
On 30 April he admitted the offence when he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court. He was jailed for 28 months when he returned for sentencing at the same court yesterday (13 June 2018).
 
Border Force 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 use an array of search techniques including sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners - as well as visual searches - to find well-hidden stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and tobacco which would otherwise end up causing harm to local people, businesses and communities.

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