Further discussion about the impact that the UK Withdrawal Agreement will have on UK and Irish ports industry took place in the Irish parliament last night.
Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin was responding to a parliamentary question from in…
OTTAWA, Ont. – The U.S. has backed away from its latest tariffs on aluminum, just hours before Canada was widely expected to retaliate with $3.6 billion in retaliatory tariffs.“It seems cooler heads have prevailed,” said Don Moore, director – governmen…
Cornish dairy farmers look set to be trailblazers for a new alternative green fuel as part of a Cornwall Council pilot scheme believed to be the first of its type in the world.
Together with Cormac, which looks after its fleet of vehicles, the authorit…
A Polish lorry driver has been jailed for 12 years after National Crime Agency officers used intelligence from the infiltration of an encrypted comms platform to catch him.
In February an international law enforcement partnership cracked the EncroChat …
A lorry driver has been jailed for 12 years after heroin worth £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 foun…
A lorry driver has been sent to prison after trying to smuggle £1.25million of heroin into the UK.
Dariusz Urban, from Poland, was caught hiding the drugs in his lorry after arriving in Harwich, Essex, earlier this year.
In February, an international l…
A Polish lorry driver has been jailed for 12 years after £1.25 million of heroin was found hidden inside a delivery of crisps.
Dariusz Urban, 49, was caught as he drove his lorry into Harwich International Port in Essex on April 15 this year after law …
A LORRY driver attempted to smuggle £1.25 million of drugs through an Essex port within a shipment of crisps.Polish lorry driver Dariusz Urban, 49, has been jailed for 12 years after he was caught driving the drugs into Harwich Internati…
Dariusz Urban, of Ostrzeszow, Poland, was arrested at Harwich International Port for smuggling heroin after police cracked the EncroChat criminal communication network in Operation Venetic. Picture: NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY
National Crime Agency
Dariusz Urban was found with 25kg of heroin hidden in his load of crisps by officers from the Border Force, who were waiting for him after being alerted by the National Crime Agency agency (NCA).
Urban’s arrest was as a result of Operation Venetic, a major coup by international law enforcement officers in February when they cracked the EncroChat network – used exclusively by criminals to communicate with each other in secret.
The NCA worked through millions of pieces of information and was able to use the intelligence to catch 49-year-old Urban as he drove his lorry into Harwich International Port on April 15.
The Border Force officers found 50 packets of drugs, with an estimated street value of £1.25m, hidden inside two steel vehicle ramps inside the truck.
Urban, of Ostrzeszow, western Poland, was also in possession of an EncroChat phone.
A day later, an international drugs supplier shared a screen shot on EncroChat of the NCA story and asked the suspected UK recipient of the drugs: “This you?”
The supplier has now been arrested in the Netherlands by Dutch authorities.
Urban was jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court after admitting attempting to import Class A drugs.
Operation Venetic has smashed thousands of criminal conspiracies, resulted in the arrests of hundreds of suspects, and the seizure of scores of firearms and more than two tonnes of Class A and B drugs.
NCA Deputy Director Matt Horne, who is the gold commander on Operation Venetic, said: “Darius Urban’s sentencing is another example of the impact the NCA, Border Force and UK policing are having on serious organised crime.
“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.”
NCA branch commander Mark Spoors added: “Drug traffickers don’t care at all about the hell they wreak on communities.
“The seizure of this significant amount of heroin means the crime groups trading it have lost money which won’t be fed back into other drugs deals.
“Stopping drugs traffickers is a top priority – and we’ll continue working with our partners at home and abroad to do it.”
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the East Anglian Daily Times. Click the link in the orange box above for details.
The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday – Friday plus breaking news updates
Extinction Rebellion protesters have glued themselves to the ground in central London during a third day of disruption.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed 72 …
The first train has arrived at Hutchison Ports London Thamesport with primary tunnel precast rings for the Thames Tideway Tunnel project in London. The Thames Tideway ‘Super Sewer’ will upgrade London’s current sewer network to cope with demands well i…
Ambulance on emergency call is caught in Extinction Rebellion traffic jam as protesters block Parliament in London and try to storm Cardiff’s new BBC building
Footage shows the response vehicle stuck with its lights flashing stuc…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The public can now see where in the U.S. autonomous vehicles are being tested, thanks to a new tool from the U.S. Department of Transportation.The online tracking tool provides data on on-road testing of automated driving systems in …
Rolling Strong and Women In Trucking (WIT) have been working together this summer to better the health of America’s truck drivers through a two-month Accelerate Your Health Wellness Competition. The competition’s winner, William Velazquez, s…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has unveiled a pilot program that would allow additional hours-of-service (HoS) regulatory relief to truck drivers.
Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. (Photo: FMCSA)
The in…
The drugs were hidden inside a steel ramp carried on board Dariusz Urban’s lorry. Picture: NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY
The drugs were found hidden in steel ramps carried on board Dariusz Urban’s lorry. Picture: NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY
Urban was arrested at Harwich International Port with 25kg of heroin hidden in his lorry. Picture: FILE/ANDREW PARTRIDGE