Lorry driver jailed over 拢1.2m heroin haul hidden in crisps delivery
Dariusz Urban was intercepted at a port in Essex by Border Force officers who found 25kg of heroin in his delivery of crisps.
Saturday 5 September 2020 16:04, UK
A lorry driver has been jailed for 12 years after heroin worth 拢1.2m was found stashed inside his crisps delivery.
Dariusz Urban, from Poland, was intercepted as he drove into Harwich International Port in Essex on 15 April.
Border Force officers found 25kg of heroin with the six-figure street value hidden in his delivery of crisps.
The 50 packets of drugs were hidden inside two steel vehicle ramps inside the truck, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Urban, 49, was arrested after a military-grade encrypted communication system called EncroChat - used by organised criminals - was hacked by police.
The encrypted platform, where users could speak privately between specially-designed handsets, was thought to be used exclusively for criminal purposes.
There were believed to be 60,000 EncroChat users internationally, including 10,000 in the UK, with prices at £1,500 for a six-month contract.
Because of the information found through the hack, the NCA was able to tip off Border Force and Urban was arrested at the Essex port.
Urban was found with an EncroChat phone, the NCA said.
After the agency publicised Urban's arrest, an international drug supplier shared a screenshot of the story and asked the suspect: "This you?"
The supplier has since been arrested by Dutch authorities in the Netherlands.
Urban admitted attempting to import Class A drugs and was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday.
NCA deputy director Matt Horne said: "Like many other cases, with this operation we were able to plot how the drugs would be picked up and moved and when would be best to strike.
"There is much more to come."