Drug smuggler jailed for 17 years

A man who tried to smuggle cocaine with a street value of more than £3m into the UK has been jailed for 17 years.

HM Revenue and Customs officers stopped Mark Bunton, 52, at the Port of Dover as he left a ferry in June 2007.

Officers recovered about 32kg of cocaine and £6,000 from the rear quarter panels of Bunton's car.

Bunton, of Caxton Road in Hoddeston, Hertfordshire, was convicted of importing a Class A drugs after a trial at Canterbury Crown Court in April.

Bunton was a mechanic by trade and owned a garage in Hitchin, which carried out MOT and servicing work on vehicles, the court heard.

When his Vauxhall Astra was stopped by officers at Eastern Docks he claimed he had been to France to look for a property.

Tom Hunnisett, from HMRC, said: "Revenue and Customs is working alongside the newly - formed UK Border Agency at the forefront of the fight to stop drugs entering the UK and to reduce the associated harm to our communities.

"The sentence handed down by the court should act as a deterrent to those involved in drug trafficking and clearly shows that crime doesn't pay."