Lithuanian lorry driver who tried to smuggle cocaine through Immingham Docks jailed

A lorry driver who was caught with almost £5million of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment in his cab has been jailed.

Lithuanian Rimas Ekleris, 59, had 60kg of the drug, worth around £4.8million, in a purpose built unit beneath the floor of his cab unit when he arrived at Immingham Dock, North East Lincolnshire, on 19 August 2022

He was stopped by Border Force officers having travelled from Cuxhaven in Germany following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.

NCA investigators, working with police in Lithuania, obtained recordings of phone conversations that proved Ekleris knew about the packages, collected them from the supplier, and been instructed on how to open the secret compartment.

Ekleris was found guilty by a jury at Grimsby Crown Court of attempted drug smuggling and was jailed for 14 years.

Carl Barrass, NCA senior investigator, said: "Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the trial, Rimas Ekleris was found guilty and now faces several years behind bars.

"Work by NCA officers, and by our partners at Border Force, was instrumental in not only detecting the sophisticated concealment, but proving that he was in on the plot from the start."

Border Force director Danny Hewitt said: "We remain committed to stopping dangerous drugs from entering the country."

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