A man has been jailed for 13 years for attempting to smuggle £5.3m of cocaine through Dover.

Mail William Van Cittert concealed the drugs in 102 tape-wrapped packages under his bed on board a ship which arrived at Dover Eastern Docks in 2004.

The 40-year-old from Amsterdam was arrested and formally charged when the 100 kilos of drugs were discovered, but escaped to Holland before his trial.

He was extradited back to the UK to face charges in May and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court.

After sentencing Van Cittert, His Honour Judge James said: "The potential profits to be made from this attempt to import a massive quantity of cocaine into the UK were enormous and though you were not an organiser, you played a vital role.

Seized packages of cocaine found under the bunk of Mail William Van Cittert

"Your admissions came late in the day and only when confronted with overwhelming evidence."

Bob Gaiger, HM Revenue & Customs spokesman, added: "Our investigators were determined to find Van Cittert and to bring him back to the UK.

"The sentence handed down by the court will act as a deterrent to those involved in this type of criminal activity and clearly shows that crime doesn't pay."