Two British men found transporting almost one million euro of cocaine at Dublin Port jailed for six years

A Ford Focus arriving at Dublin Port from Cherbourg was stopped by customs officers after it came off a ferry. The driver, Adrian Leszczynski, and passenger, Philip Clarke, told officers they had nothing to declare. A search found a hidden compartment in the boot containing 13.9kg of cocaine worth about €978,300, along with a tracking device. Leszczynski said he was delivering a car from Spain to Ireland for payment of €1,200 to €1,500 plus expenses, and he denied knowing about prohibited items while taking responsibility for the contents. Clarke said he was a passenger on holiday and denied knowledge or payment. Both pleaded guilty and had no previous convictions, with custody since arrest.

"A Ford Focus driven by Leszczynski was stopped by customs officers after arriving on a ferry from Cherbourg. Clarke with an address in Castledoington, East Midlands was a front seat passenger. The men told customs officers they had nothing to declare when asked. When the car was searched, a hidden compartment was found in the boot, which contained a total of 13.9kg of cocaine, worth roughly €978,300. A tracking device was also found on the car."

"Leszczynski of Sinfin, Derby told customs officers that he was delivering a car from Spain to Ireland. He said he was due to be paid between €1,200 and €1,500. He denied knowing there was anything prohibited in the van, but took responsibility for its contents. Clarke said he was a passenger and was on holiday with his friend. Leszczynski told gardai that he'd met a man called Paddy in a pub in Spain and was given €1,500 plus €500 for expenses to drive the car from Spain to Ireland."

"Clarke said Leszczynski had paid for his flights for his first holiday abroad. He gave a broadly similar outline of their journey and denied that he was being paid or had any knowledge of the drugs, telling gardai that he was doing it to see other countries. The men have no previous convictions and have been in custody since their arrest. The investigating garda agreed with Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending Leszczynski, that his client took responsibility for the drugs and was co-operative during interview, in which he said he didn't know the drugs were in the car."

Read at Irish Independent