Driver smuggled heroin on Amsterdam day trip
15 Feb 2022 11:13 AM
A man who claimed he was on a day trip to Dunkirk when he was actually picking up 6 kilos of heroin in Amsterdam has been jailed following a National Crime Agency investigation
Daniel Whereatt, 48, from Bristol, was stopped at Dover’s Eastern Docks on 18 March 2019 on his return to the UK.
His car was searched by Border Force officers after they noticed a strong smell of fuel inside the vehicle.
The lining and cushions of the car’s back sears were removed and 18 tape-wrapped packages filled with a brown powder were found submerged inside the fuel sender tanks.
National Crime Agency officers tested the powder and six kilos were found to be heroin with an estimated street value of £800,000. A further two kilos were found to contain paracetamol and caffeine, common cutting agents for heroin.
Whereatt told NCA officers that he had been in Dunkirk for the day, sleeping in his vehicle before returning to the UK.
However, phone analysis showed Whereatt had actually been in Amsterdam at the time he claimed he had been in Dunkirk.
His DNA was also discovered on a screwdriver and metal file found next to the fuel sender unit where the drugs were found.
Whereatt pleaded guilty to importing six kilos of heroin on 4 January. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court on 11 February.
Mark Howes, Branch Commander at the NCA, said: “This was an attempt to bring potentially lethal drugs into the UK and generate hundreds of thousands of pounds from their supply to vulnerable people.
“Whereatt had only insured the vehicle for two days and we believe this was solely for the purpose of picking up the heroin in Amsterdam and bringing it back to his contacts at home.
“Heroin is a very dangerous drug and brings with it exploitation and violence. We will continue our work with Border Force and other partners to target smugglers like Whereatt and bring them to justice.”