A pensioner attempted to smuggle cocaine worth £600,000 in his mobility scooter before he was stopped at Gatwick Airport.
Ronald Lord, 71, has been jailed for six years after the thwarted attempt in February this year.
Mr Lord, from Montreal, Canada, claimed he had been on a seven-day holiday to Barbados before heading to the UK for sightseeing.
But Border Force x-rayed his scooter and found eight kilos of the class A drug hidden in a void in the seat back panel.
The haul was valued at around £640,000, at street-level prices, by experts from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
Mr Lord told NCA investigators he didn’t know how it got there, denying any knowledge.
But, during the search, a screw from the panel was found in his pocket.
Investigators, who carried out checks with airlines, also found he had lied about his time in Barbados.
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They found he had only been there three days before travelling to the UK.
Mr Lord admitted the class A drug smuggling charges at Croydon Crown Court on 5 August. He was sentenced to six years in prison at the same court on 5 September.
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NCA Senior Investigating Officer, Richard Wickham, said: “Organised crime groups need smugglers like Mr Lord to bring class A drugs into the UK, where they are sold for huge profit by gangs who deal in violence and exploitation.
“He obviously thought that because he was a pensioner, he would be less of a target for law enforcement. He was wrong, and I hope this case sends out a message to anyone who would consider doing the same.
“Working with partners like Border Force, the NCA is determined to do all we can to stop class A drugs finding their way into the hands of criminal gangs, and target those involved in helping them.”
