Man travelling with family jailed for smuggling over £2m worth of heroin

A man travelling with family in their campervan has been jailed for smuggling over £2m worth of heroin.

A MAN travelling with his partner and three children aged between one and six has been jailed after almost 20 kilos was recovered from his campervan at Dover Eastern Docks two days before Christmas 2019.

42-year-old Michael Sloan was stopped by Border Force officers and when asked about his plans said that the family were returning from a trip to see the Christmas Market in Cologne, Germany.

However, after a drug detection dog was brought in, 20 kilos of heroin was found in a concealed compartment built into a storage compartment at the rear. NCA forensic experts found that the heroin was between 44 and 59 per cent pure – worth around £1.98 million (2,314,774 euros).

Sloan pleaded guilty to smuggling class A drugs at a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday, November 8 and was sentenced to six years and four months in prison.

NCA Branch Commander Mark Howes said: “This was a cynical attempt to bring dangerous class A drugs into the UK, which saw Sloan use his partner and young children as cover for his drug smuggling exploits.

“I’ve no doubt that the concealment in the van was built specifically for the purpose of smuggling, and that Sloan thought that travelling with his family would make it less likely they would be stopped.

“Heroin is closely linked to county lines type exploitation and violence, which is why we are working closely with partners like Border Force to target those trying to bring it in.”

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