Lorry driver jailed for 11 years for trying to smuggle £1M drugs into UK
A lorry driver has been jailed for 11 years for trying to smuggle drugs, worth an estimated £1 million, into the UK.
Serhii Tukalo, 39, from Smila, Ukraine was stopped by Border Force at a freight terminal in Dover in May.
An x-ray of the lorry he was driving showed he had air compressors and pressure washers from factories in Northern Italy in the vehicle.
Officers found 20 kilo blocks of high purity cocaine wrapped and hidden in boxes holding equipment.
Tukalo was arrested on suspicion of importing Class A drugs, but said he had no knowledge of how the drugs arrived in the vehicle.
A number of other items were seized, including two phones and a sim card holder with a sticky note attached with details of a UK phone number.
Paperwork was also found which showed Tukalo had been convicted in France in 2021 for attempting to smuggle two Albanian migrants into the UK in the cab of his lorry.
Forensic experts downloaded his phone data and found images of UK and Ukrainian bank notes. The NCA argued that it relates to a known system between drug and cash couriers whereby each recipient would be able to present the exact note in person to prove their identity.
The extra sim card belonged to Tukalo but was registered in a different name. He claimed to use the card to contact family and watch YouTube, but data showed only two numbers had ever contacted the sim and it had never been online.
He was sentenced to 11 years in prison at Canterbury Crown Court after a jury took just two hours to find him guilty.
Derek Evans, NCA Operations Manager, said: "Tukalo saw an opportunity to exploit his professional services as a haulier to import a significant quantity of Class A drugs into the UK and avoid detection.
"However through effective processes at our borders, his vehicle was identified. His defence was dismissed by the jury within a short time frame, such was the evidence presented to the court. This sentence should serve as a deterrent to others who may seek to exploit our borders who may face the same fate."