Haulier fights C&E for truck by Miles Brignall • A
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Liverpool haulier whose life was turned upside down after one of his drivers was caught with a consignment of drugs in his trailer is still trying to get his truck back, despite being cleared of any involvement.
Eugene Marsh, owner of JK Transport, spent three months in custody before Customs & Excise dropped all charges against him and the driver concerned. But although he was freed last September, he is still fighting to get his Scania tractor and trailer back from Customs.
Officers had followed it to the UK from Cologne carrying a groupage load last July.
On its way back from Dover it was stopped at a Vehicle Inspectorate check where it received a delayed prohibition. When customs officers raided his workshop in Liverpool just hours later, Marsh was working on the unit's broken fog lamp. Inside the trailer they found 200kg of cannabis. When they examined the driver's records, 500km appeared to be unaccounted for.
Marsh and the driver denied any knowledge of the drugs but both were arrested.
Now, six months after his release, Marsh is bitter about his treatment by the authorities. "If I'd smuggled the drugs in I would hardly have been fixing the fog lamp when the Customs officers arrived at the yard," he says. "Not only did they lock me up for 23 hours a day without any evidence, but now they refuse to return the truck."
Customs even wrote to Marsh's fuel supplier, Securicor Fuelserv, which cut off his credit and only reinstated his supply after a series of letters, including one from his solicitor.
Marsh warns anyone else caught in similar circumstances to appeal against the holding of vehicles at every available stage.