1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190 
Getaway is abridged Fag smugglers jailed BUNGLING THIEVES were foiled
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
in their attempts to escape with a truck loaded with furniture after they jammed it underneath a railway bridge.
The incident happened following a theft at around lOpm on Thursday 21 October from the Argos depot in Barton-underNeedwood, Staffordshire.
A driver for Maritime Transport was waiting to enter the depot when four men dragged him from his cab and bundled him into a car.
One of the hijackers then jumped into his truck and drove off, but barely an hour later he was forced to abandon the burgundy vehicle and its load of furniture after getting it stuck under a bridge on the B4098 at Kingsbury. The gang escaped in a car which was following the stolen truck.
The 44-year-old driver was later dumped on the side of the road. He received hospital treatment but was later allowed home.
Maritime Transport declined to comment: police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
• Contact: DC David Johnston on 01785234734 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. A TRUCK DRIVER has been jailed for a year for attempting to smuggle more than a million cigarettes into the UK.
Swansea Crown Court heard that Patrick O'Neill from County Tyrone was arrested in the early hours of 20 September 2002 as he drove his truck from the Rosslare-Pembroke freight ferry. Customs officers searched the vehicle and found 1.2 million cigarettes: the duty evaded on the haul was estimated to be £200,000.
Two other men. Donald McDonald and his son Donald lain McDonald, both of Gloucestershire, were jailed for 21 and 18 months respectively.
Both had pleaded guilty to being involved in the organisation of the smuggling attempt via Pembroke Dock, and to a second attempt to smuggle a further 1.2 million cigarettes seized at Customs' outward controls at Coquelles. France, on 22 September 2002.
A fourth defendant, truck driver Allan James of Stroud, was sentenced to a 200-hour community punishment order after he admitted his involvement in the Coquelles smuggling attempt. The court heard that he had been the driver of the truck stopped at Coquelles.