Lorry driver jailed for smuggling cocaine into Harwich port

Dutch national Robert Tromp, 49, was stopped at Harwich International Port on November 11, 2019.

Border Force officers conducted a search of his trailer, finding 280kg of cocaine stashed inside two pallets of frozen chicken meat.

Throughout a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the jury heard how Tromp had made two previous trips to the UK in the same lorry, carrying a cargo of low-grade chicken.

Well-hidden: The cocaine was stashed in low-grade chicken meat

Mark Seymour, prosecuting, said he carried documentation only permitting a journey to carry goods to Crowborough, in Sussex.

But after arriving in Harwich from the Hook of Holland on October 30 and November 4, Tromp instead drove to a location in Huntington, Cambridgeshire.

The prosecution said this unauthorised journey was made in order to deliver “the dirty side” of the load.

Mr Seymour said: “Huntingdon clearly had a purpose.

“That purpose, the Crown say, is very straightforward and very simple, to drop part of the load in Huntingdon – that part being, as per trip three, two pallets which have drugs on board.”

The court heard the drugs seized in November 2019 had a purity of between 70 and 80 per cent.

Following a trial lasting around two weeks, Tromp, of Hillegom, in the Netherlands, was convicted of one charge of fraudulently evading a prohibition on an importation.

The key issue during the trial was knowledge, with Tromp claiming he lacked any awareness of a drug smuggling operation.

Nick Bonehill, mitigating, said: “He’s been a driver for 27 years.

“He is a single, divorced man who was living with his now 74-year-old mother.

“His father died 11 years ago, his mother is not in the greatest of health and whilst he tells me he has had some contact with his mother over the last year and a half, he is sure the effects of what has been going on in relation to him have worsened her health.”

Mr Bonehill called on the judge to give Tromp “some light at the end of the tunnel”.

Sentencing Tromp to 20 years’ imprisonment, Recorder Richard Christie QC said he played a significant role in the importation of a “massive” quantity of cocaine, motivated by financial gain.

He said: “The drugs in this case were packed cleverly, within meat and concealed then within boxes and within the load that was being transported of low-value frozen chicken.”

The investigation was conducted by the National Crime Agency.

Lydia Bloomfield, Branch Commander, said: "Tromp was linked to a significant seizure in 2019, which prevented a huge amount of cocaine from entering the UK. 

"Organised crime groups rely on corrupt drivers like him to transport drugs, and fuel the cocaine market, which remains a driver of violence and exploitation throughout the UK. 

"I hope the sentence handed out here acts as a deterrent to others who would consider doing the same, and make them ask whether it is really worth the risk. 

"Working with partners like Border Force we are determined to do all we can to disrupt those groups and bring about convictions like this one.”