Driver who smuggled £12m of coke and heroin jailed for 16 years

2022-12-27

Dutch van driver who was caught trying to smuggle 200 KILOS of cocaine and heroin into UK with street value of £12m is jailed for 16 years

Abraham Schrier stashed the class A drugs by hiding them in a van
Marius Verschuere, driving, told officers he was staying in Kent for one night
NCA officers found 74 kilos of heroin and 128 kilos of cocaine
Canterbury Crown Court jury found Schrier guilty and was jailed for 16 years

A Dutch van driver was jailed for 16 years after he was caught trying to smuggle 200 kilos of coke and heroin into the UK- a street value of more than £12 million.

Abraham Schrier, 61, from Goes in the Netherlands, stashed the class A drugs by hiding them in the side of a white Renault Master van heading through the Channel tunnel.

The van which was registered in Belgium was stopping before boarding a train from France to the UK at the Channel Tunnel terminal on Friday, June, 10, 2022.

In total 74 kilos of heroin and 128 kilos of cocaine were found. Forensic experts believes it would have had a street value in Britain of over £12 million, the National Crime Agency said.

Abraham Schrier, 61, pictured, stashed £12 million worth of cocaine and heroin by hiding them in the side of a white Renault Master van heading through the Channel tunnel from France to the UK. He was jailed for 16 years after a jury at Canterbury Crown Court found him guilty

In total 74 kilos of heroin and 128 kilos of cocaine were found. Forensic experts believed it would have had a street value in Britain of over £12 million, the National Crime Agency said

On Wednesday, December, 21, 2022 at Canterbury Crown Court, Schrier was jailed for 16 years after a jury found him guilty.

Marius Verschueren, 69, the driver of the van, told Border Force officers he was driving to Ashford, Kent, and would stay one night and then return.

But NCA officers were called in to investigate after a search found packages of heroin and cocaine concealed in the side panels of the vehicle.

Verschueren, from the Borgerhout area of Antwerp in Belgium, and the driver of the first van, was found not guilty by the jury.

Just half-an-hour later a second van, driven by Schrier, was stopped at the same place and he also said he was going to Ashford for one night.

Marius Verschueren, 69, the driver of the van, told Border Force officers he was driving to Ashford, Kent, and would stay one night and then return

NCA officers were called in to investigate after a search found packages of heroin and cocaine concealed in the side panels of the vehicle

Verschueren, from the Borgerhout area of Antwerp in Belgium, and the driver of the first van, was found not guilty by the jury

Mark Howes added: ‘Schrier may have been one step removed from those gangs, but his part shouldn’t be diminished’

Mark Howes, NCA Dover branch commander, said after the sentencing hearing: ‘This was a significant seizure of class A drugs which would have ended up in the hands of the type of street gangs directly involved violence and exploitation in our communities’

No drugs were found in his vehicle, but an electric drill set, socket and bolts matching those found in the panelling on the first van were found – showing he had been involved in hiding the drugs, police said.

Schrier, initially denied this when questioned by detectives, but he was charged with importing class A drugs.

Mark Howes, NCA Dover branch commander, said after the sentencing hearing: ‘The evidence we were able to provide showed that Schrier was a key component in this importation.

‘This was a significant seizure of class A drugs which would have ended up in the hands of the type of street gangs directly involved violence and exploitation in our communities.

Half-an-hour later a second van, driven by Schrier, was stopped at the same place and he also said he was going to Ashford for one night

‘Schrier may have been one step removed from those gangs, but his part shouldn’t be diminished.

‘Couriers like him are vital to the business model of the organised crime networks involved in international drug trafficking.

‘It is the NCA’s job to target and disrupt those upstream networks, and working with partners like Border Force we are determined to do all we can to stop them.’

Martin Coates, Border Force deputy director, added: ‘Drugs are a plague to our society, fuelling violence on the streets which communities across the UK are forced to endure.

‘This seizure demonstrates the close cooperation between Border Force and the NCA, preventing harmful substances from entering our communities while reassuring the public that we will always remain committed to keeping them safe from the despicable illegal smuggling of dangerous drugs.’

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