A DRUG smuggler who tried to sneak £1 million of cocaine over the Border has been jailed.
Kurtis Taylor, originally from Liverpool, left England on September 5 last year in a black Vauxhall Vivaro with 10kg of the class-A drug in tow.
However, before the 30-year-old could reach his destination, Police Scotland blocked and raided his van on the M74 near Lesmahagow.
Once inside, officers discovered a secret compartment under the van's back seat, opened by a hydraulic press toggled by a special key fob.
They found ten packages inside, each filled with a white powder substance and with a Twitter logo on the outside.
Officers later determined it was cocaine, with the total load having a street value of between £801,840 and £1,002,300 if cut up for sale.
DNA belonging to Taylor and another individual, not yet identified, was found on the packaging.
Taylor appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on May 15, where he admitted being involved in the supply of the Class A drug.
On Tuesday, at the same court, he was jailed for six years, with Justice Douglas Brown bringing the sentence down from eight due to the “utilitarian view” of Taylor’s guilty plea.
He said: “You obviously knew that in transporting these drugs you were involved in a large-scale drug supply operation.
"Trafficking in class-A drugs such as cocaine, particularly when it involves such a substantial quantity as in this case, is a serious offence which is likely to result in a severe sentence.
"The sentence is six years imprisonment and this will run from May 15 of this year.”
Detective Superintendent Steven Elliot said: “This seizure has undoubtedly caused significant disruption to the local supply chain of illegal substances.”
“Police Scotland will not allow criminals and organised crime groups to profit from other people’s misery. We know that individuals and communities are deeply affected by the drugs trade.”
Moira Orr, the Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow, said: “This was a sophisticated effort to bring significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs across the Border from England.
"Kurtis Taylor will now serve a significant prison sentence thanks to the intelligence-led police operation and work by prosecutors.”
