A Dutchman has been jailed for ten years after half a million pounds of heroin was found in his car.

Customs officers at Harwich found 3.9 kilos of the drug in eight packets hidden behind the back passenger seat after searching a Ford Escort car on January 18.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard 42-year-old Albertus Slangewal, of Rotterdam, told customs after he was stopped coming off a ferry from The Hook, he had been offered 4,000 euros to get the drugs into Britain.

He admitted smuggling when he appeared in court for sentence.

Gareth Hughes, mitigating, said Slangewal was a drug addict and had attempted the smuggling to pay off debts.

Published Friday, February 25, 2005

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