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Heron i Heron i smuggler s jailed
26th February 2004, Page 14
26th February 2004
Page 14
Page 14, 26th February 2004
— Heron i Heron i smuggler s jailed
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A DUTCH TRUCK driver was last week jailed for 15 years for his part in a heroin smuggling operation.
Dirk Van Minnen, 54, was convicted of conspiring to import 35kg of the drug. which Liverpool Crown Court heard was concealed in a truck tyre. Van Minnen, of Ettenleur in the Netherlands. had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Van Minnen was caught last April when he was arrested together with Merseyside man Steven Thornton, 30. of Pollitt Crescent. St Helens, in a National Crime Squad investigation.
Thornton was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
Both men are due to appear in Liverpool Crown Court again on 14 May when they will face a legal attempt to confiscate their assets.