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Cocaine seized at Ramsgate - lorry driver charged
09 November 2009
Officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are investigating a smuggling bid after about 11 kg of cocaine estimated to be worth £440,000 was seized at the Port of Ramsgate. UK Border Agency officers stopped a Lithuanian-registered lorry at the Port of Ramsgate, after it arrived on a ferry from Ostend, Belgium on Wednesday 4 November 2009. Officers searched the vehicle and discovered a number of packages under a mattress on a bunk in the cab. Powder in the packages tested positive for cocaine.
The 53-year-old lorry driver, Viktor Maksimov, from Lithuania, was arrested and interviewed by HMRC investigation officers and was subsequently charged with attempting to smuggle Class A drugs into the United Kingdom. He appeared at Dover Magistrates Court yesterday and was remanded in custody for a week. His next court appearance is on Thursday 12 November before Dover magistrates.
Bob Gaiger, HMRC spokesman in the South East said:
'HM Revenue & Customs together with the UK Border Agency play a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the UK and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade. Smugglers should not see regional ports like Ramsgate as a soft touch. Anyone with information about illegal smuggling activity should contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.'