A lorry driver who tried to smuggle £620,000 worth of cannabis from Holland to Northern Ireland in an underfloor compartment has been handed a two-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Sergei Nicola Bacaianov (42) with an address in Blanchardstown in the Republic of Ireland, was travelling by ferry from the Netherlands to Killingholme port in Lincolnshire on May 4 2023, carrying a load of fresh chicken in his trailer.
Border Force officers acting on behalf of the National Crime Agency (NCA) stopped Bacaianov at the port.
A search of his trailer found new welding and paintwork which indicated that efforts had been made to conceal two underfloor compartments.
Each compartment contained three sliding drawers, each with five metal trays filled with 31 kilos of cannabis with a street value of £620,000.
Bacaianov denied any knowledge of the drugs when questioned by NCA officers and insisted he was collecting and delivering legitimate loads.
However, investigators found DNA evidence suggesting he both knew about and had helped to load the drugs.
He pleaded guilty to drugs importation at Grimsby Crown Court on September 25, telling the court he had some knowledge of the drugs but not the scale of the operation.
The lorry involved in the seizure
Bacaianov was sentenced at the same court to a two-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday and will be deported at the end of his sentence.
NCA Belfast Branch Commander David Cunningham said: “Sergei Bacaianov was not only aware of the illegal load he was smuggling, but involved in loading the drugs into a sophisticated hide beneath the floor of his trailer to avoid detection at the border.
“We believe these drugs would have been destined for onward travel to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland where they would have been sold on the streets, the profits from which would have been used to commit further serious and organised crime.
The drugs had been concealed in the lorry
“The NCA works closely with partners both in the UK and overseas to disrupt criminal hauliers who use their legitimate loads, often foodstuffs, to transport their illegal commodities into the UK.
“The message to those who choose to get involved in this type of criminality is simple – the NCA and our partner enforcement agencies will use every available tactic to identify you, seize your vehicles and bring you to justice.”