Bristol man on Amsterdam ‘day trip’ caught trying to smuggle £800,000 worth of heroin into UK

A Bristol man who claimed he was on a ‘day trip’ on the continent when he was actually picking up £800,000 of heroin to smuggle back into the UK has been jailed for six years.

Daniel Whereatt was stopped at Dover’s Eastern Docks on March 18 2019 on his return to the UK.

The 48-year-old’s car, which had only been insured for two days, 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 discovered 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, which are common cutting agents for the Class A drug.

Whereatt told NCA officers that he had been in Dunkirk for the day, sleeping in his vehicle before returning to the UK.

But phone analysis showed Whereatt had actually been in Amsterdam at the time.

His DNA was also discovered on a screwdriver and a metal file found next to the fuel sender unit where the drugs were found.

Whereatt pleaded guilty to importing six kilos of heroin on January 4 before he was sentenced to six years imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, February 11.

Mark Howes, branch commander at the National Crime Agency, 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.

“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.”