A LORRY driver caught with 1.3m cigarettes hidden in his load also had something more sinister in the cab, a judge at Maidstone Crown Court heard today.

Jochen Thiel had a loaded handgun and 29 rounds of ammunition.

The 38-year-old German was jailed for three years after admitting evading almost £205,000 in Customs duty and committing a prohibition on importation of goods - the weapon and ammunition.

The court heard that Thiel, of Gredinger Strasse, Nurnberg, was stopped at Dover docks on September 29 last year. He said he had loaded the truck in Nurnberg and was delivering to a variety of places in the UK. He admitted to having only 800 cigarettes.

The trailer was searched and 1,358,000 cigarettes were discovered. He later admitted: “I have been silly.” He claimed he thought he was importing jeans.

The Baby Browning gun was found when the cab was searched more thoroughly. Thiel said he inherited it from his father and did not know if it worked.

But Judge Warwick McKinnon was told that the weapon, which had five cartridges in the magazine, was in good working order.

Ian Foinette, defending, said Thiel was fortunate that he was not charged under the Firearms Act as he could have faced a minimum sentence of five years.

Thiel was jailed for three years for the gun offences and 12 months concurrent for evading duty.