Smuggler jailed after up to £1m of cocaine found inside hidden compartment

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A drug courier who smuggled £1 million of cocaine into Scotland in a hidden compartment under the back seat of a van has been jailed for six years.

Kurtis James Taylor, from Liverpool, was stopped by police while driving a black Vauxhall Vivaro van on the M74 near Lesmahagow on September 5 last year.

Officers took the van back to Coatbridge Police Office and searched it with the assistance of a drug detection dog.

They found a hidden hydraulic compartment concealed beneath the back seat of the van, which could be opened and closed using a modified key fob.

It contained 10 block-shaped packages embossed with a Twitter logo.

The packages were later discovered to be 10kg of cocaine, with an estimated street value of between £801,840 and £1,002,300.

Taylor, whose DNA was found on the packages, appeared at Glasgow High Court on May 15 where he admitted being involved in the supply of the Class A drug.

On Tuesday at the same court, the 30-year-old was sentenced to six years in jail, Scotland’s prosecution service said.

The DNA of another individual was also found on the packages but they have not been identified by police.

Moira Orr, who leads on homicide and major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “This was a sophisticated effort to bring significant quantities of illegal and harmful drugs across the border from England.

“Kurtis Taylor will now serve a significant prison sentence thanks to the intelligence-led police operation and work by prosecutors.

“We are determined to disrupt serious and organised crime.

“We are targeting all people who threaten communities across Scotland, from drug couriers to those who direct their movements.

“With each case of this kind, we can help reduce the harm these drugs inflict on those communities.”