Dover Drugs Haul

A Dutch lorry driver has been charged with trying to smuggle £5.8m pounds worth of drugs into the UK through Dover port.

Customs officials found the haul in a shipment of frozen chips during a search of a Dutch-registered lorry at the Eastern Docks on June 30th.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) said around 100 kilos (220lb) of heroin, 15 kilos (33lb) of cocaine and 250 kilos (551lb) of cannabis were seized.

Otto Landman, who is 54 and from Eesveen in the Netherlands, has appeared before Dover Magistrates court and denied attempting to smuggle the drugs.

He is due back at the same court on Thursday as inquiries continue into the seizure.

UKBA investigators use an array of techniques to help crack down on drug and people smuggling through British ports.

These include deploying sniffer dogs, carbon monoxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners as well as conducting visual searches of vehicles.