A driver packed 32 kilos of cocaine into the fuel tank of his van and attempted to drive through Dover Eastern docks.

But he was stopped by Border Force officials who noticed that the vehicle had been fitted with a larger fuel tank than the factory original.

Today Ion Cazac, 40, was jailed for nine years and nine months by Canterbury Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to being involved in the importation of drugs.

The court heard that the recovered drugs had a purity ranging from 61 per cent to 80 per cent and would have had an estimated street value of £2.5 million.

When Cazac was interviewed by National Crime Agency officers, he initially denied all knowledge of the drugs, stating he had picked up a load before receiving a call from another driver asking him to stop at a hotel. But in court he changed his story and confessed.

Mark Howes, branch commander for the NCA, said: "These drugs would have put millions of pounds back into the hands of the criminals who would have invested it in further criminality.

"The NCA works closely with partners, including Border Force, to find drug smugglers who attempt to bring drugs over our borders to the streets of the UK.”