Haulier jailed over £1m drug find in his lorry

Officials at Dover’s Eastern Docks discovered about 3,000 tablets and 19 kilos of ecstasy and 43 kilos of amphetamine in the vehicle owned by Daljit Singh Jandu in February 2007. The drugs were hidden in brown cardboard boxes and a woven laundry bag in the lorry, which had been driven from the Netherlands, the Old Bailey heard.

Jandu, of Wesley Street, Wakefield, was not the lorry driver but a jury found him guilty of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition of controlled drugs. He was sentenced yesterday.

The 45-year-old was convicted after a retrial, having successfully appealed against a 2008 conviction for which he had been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The UK Border Agency’s criminal and financial investigation assistant director, Malcolm Bragg, said: “The sentence handed down should act as a warning to those who attempt to smuggle illegal drugs into this country.

“The seizure of these drugs reflects the robust controls we have in place at the UK border, backed by dedicated criminal investigation teams who are all vital in bringing these criminals to justice.”

He added: “Drug use destroys not only the lives of individual users, but also their families and the wider community.”