Driver jailed for smuggling
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AN ESSEX TRUCK driver has been jailed for 15 years by Canterbury Crown Court for smuggling more than a million ecstasy tablets and 45kg of amphetamines into the UK.
The court heard that Alan Philpot, 52, from Romford, was stopped by Customs officers at Dover's Eastern Docks on 6 October 2005. He was driving a UK-registered truck carrying a load of frozen foodstuffs.
A search of the vehicle uncovered 10 boxes of ecstasy and four boxes of amphetamines hidden among the legitimate load: the drugs were said to have a street value of €4,4m.
Passing sentence,Judge Van Bilj said: "I have taken into account your age and the need to treat you Is a courier, but the sentence must )e a warning to others tempted to ;muggle drugs."