Drugs smuggler who hid £1m worth of cocaine in van is jailed after Scots motorway raid

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A drugs courier has been caged after attempting to smuggle £1million worth of cocaine into Scotland.Kurtis Taylor was snared with around 10kg of the class A drug in his black Vauxhall Vivaro van on the M74 near Lesmahagow, in Lanarkshire, on September 5, 2023.

The 30-year-old, from Liverpool, was busted after officers from Police Scotland received intelligence that a vehicle was travelling from England with a significant quantity of drugs on board.Taylor's van was taken to Coatbridge Police Office and searched with the assistance of a drug detection dog.

The smuggler's operation was unveiled after officers discovered a hidden hydraulic compartment underneath the back seat of the vehicle – which was opened and closed using a modified key fob.Ten block-shaped packages, with a Twitter logo on them, were discovered inside and were later found to be cocaine.

The drugs held an approximate street value of between £801,840 and £1,002,300 if cut up for sale.DNA belonging to Kurtis and another individual, who has not been identified, were discovered on the packaging.