A Polish lorry driver with a wife and kids in Ireland has been jailed in the UK after he smuggled 75kg of high-purity cocaine worth an "astronomical" €7 million through Hull docks.
Jaroslaw Kaminski, 52, was jailed for 15 years after the find in a secret compartment under a fridge in the cab of his truck.
The court heard he was part of a highly sophisticated drugs operation that used encrypted phones and cryptocurrency to cover its tracks.
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The "monumental" haul of cocaine was hidden in a secret compartment under a fridge in the lorry cab but his fingerprints were found on the inside of the secret area, Hull Crown Court heard.
Kaminski, from Poland, admitted being involved in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on importing cocaine on May 15. He originally denied the charge and was due to face a trial but he changed his plea.
Paul Mitchell, prosecuting, said that Kaminski travelled on a German-registered HGV and trailer into King George Dock, Hull, on the Pride of Rotterdam ferry, arriving at 8.25am. His papers claimed that he was heading to Scotland and York but a scan of the lorry led to a search and a positive drugs indication.
A small fridge in the cab between the seats was moved and investigators drilled through the floor. Brown-wrapped parcels were underneath the floor. When these were broken into with a spike, cocaine was found. There were 75 packages, each containing about 1kg of cocaine.
The fridge was mounted on rails, allowing it to be slid forward between the front seats. There was a handle on the back of the fridge to help. "When the fridge was slid fully forward, it revealed a metal plate which had two small holes," said Mr Mitchell.
A long, thin metal pin was found on a shelf and it fitted the holes perfectly. It released a locking mechanism, allowing the plate to be lifted out of the way. There were eight screws which, when removed, gave access to the secret hiding place for the 75 blocks of cocaine. The drugs had a purity of between 77 and 82 per cent - much higher than normal street purity.
The wholesale street value of the cocaine was £2-million (€2.3m) but, when it was broken down into deals, the potential value was at least £6-million (€7m).
Kaminski's fingerprints were found on the underside of two metal plates on the hidden compartment that was bolted down, meaning that the fingerprints were on the inside of where the drugs were.
Phones found included ones using a subscription, encrypted communication service costing 199 euros a month. It was designed to wipe clean if intercepted by the police. Cryptocurrency was to be used in transactions to pay Kaminski.
He had made two previous return trips from Rotterdam to Hull with the same lorry between April 23 and 27 and May 5 and 10. "He was not just a driver," said Mr Mitchell. "He had a direct connection with the drugs and the organisation and financial aspects of the operation. The operation itself was sophisticated in nature."
Michael Forrest, mitigating, said that Kaminski had no previous convictions. "His involvement in this operation was purely down to financial motivation," said Mr Forrest.
The cocaine involved an "astronomical" amount of money. "There has clearly been a monumental seizure," said Mr Forrest. "He was approached by a text message. There is no suggestion that he was forced or coerced.
"After the initial involvement, there was no going back. He was not a major player. He was not directing, organising, buying. He was not exploiting children or vulnerable people or anything of that nature. This was a man who bore all the risk and will suffer all the consequences. He reflects nothing but sincere and genuine remorse."
Kaminski had a wife in Ireland, two adult sons and two granddaughters, with a grandson on the way.
"He knows that the next time he sees his grandchildren will be when they are adults," said Mr Forrest.
"His family will go without a father, his wife will go without a husband and his grandchildren will go without a grandfather not just this Christmas but for many more Christmases."
Judge Sophie McKone told Kaminski: "You were part of a sophisticated, professional and very well planned operation to bring highly dangerous Class A drugs into this country. There was a well-concealed hide placed in your lorry to which you had access.
"Forensic evidence indicates that you did indeed have access to the hide and the drugs and you were involved in putting them in there. You were in possession of two encrypted phones and you were to receive a substantial amount of money to bring the drugs in. That was to be in the region of £10,000 a month to be paid in encrypted currency, quite another indication of the sophistication of this operation."
The street value of the drugs was a "conservative" £6-million. "It was clearly being imported at high purity wholesale import amounts to then go on to be broken down for street deals," said Judge McKone. "You were not a bit player in this enterprise. You were not just a driver."
The drugs were seized by Border Force officers but it was a National Crime Agency investigation. Carl Barass, Operations Manager at the NCA, said: “This was a significant amount of cocaine, left undetected it would have been sold across the streets of the UK, ultimately fuelling more crime and inciting violence.
“This sentence should serve as a reminder that Class A drugs have no place in the UK. Together with partners like Border Force we are determined to disrupt the organised crime groups intent on bringing it into the UK.”
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