Customs nab 'reefer' reefer
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• Customs and Excise officers have seized a Britishregistered refrigerated lorry at Dover which was found to be carrying 700 kilos of cannabis worth around 22 million.
The British driver was arrested and is now awaiting trial, probably in October or November.
Customs says the cannabis was concealed in the walls of the refrigerated trailer. There were no obvious signs that the trailer had been tampered with but close examination showed that the internal fascia panels had been removed. The lorry was carrying a consignment of yarn from Spain.
Customs and Excise refuses to identify the haulage copmany concerned, saying only that the seizure was the "result of much hard work by Customs" and did not follow a tip-off.
II The Routiers Drivers Club has hit back at speculation that it is experiencing financial difficulties.
Cynthia Lester, marketing director for Routiers Limited, which operates the club, writes off the rumours as "bad mouthing — if people want to see how solvent we are they should go to Companies House".
The Driver's Club is examining ways to improve its membership, which currently stands at around 3,000, but Lester says that at present membership entry to the club "is on hold, and in a period of market research" while ways are found to increase its appeal to drivers while resisting calls for it to act as a sort of trade union.