The 71-year-old claimed to be dumbstruck as to how the huge haul of Class A drugs had ended up inside his scooter but NCA officers quickly found out the truth of his involvement
A pensioner who tried to smuggle eight kilos of cocaine into the UK through Gatwick Airport was caught when Border Force guards x-rayed his mobility scooter and found the haul hidden inside it. Ronald Lord, 71, claimed he was going on a sightseeing holiday in the UK and denied knowing how the drugs had been stashed in his scooter but when he was searched at the airport a screw needed to close the panel, behind which the cocaine was hidden, was found in his pocket.
Lord, from Montreal in Canada, was stopped by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers when he arrived at Gatwick on February 7 on a flight from Barbados. He pretended to have been in Barbados for a seven-day holiday before travelling to the UK for a separate holiday. Border Force officers x-rayed his scooter and found cocaine worth £640,000 at street-level selling prices in a void in the seat back panel.
Lord told NCA investigators he had no idea how the drugs could have got there denied any involvement. However, following a search a screw from the panel was found in his pocket. Investigators also carried out checks with airlines, and found he had lied about his time in Barbados, spending only three days there before travelling to the UK.
When he appeared at Croydon Crown Court on August 5 Lord admitted class A drug smuggling charges. On Friday, September 5 a judge at the same court sentenced him to six years in prison.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Richard Wickham said: “Organised crime groups need smugglers like Lord to bring class A drugs into the UK, where they are sold for huge profit by gangs who deal in violence and exploitation. He obviously thought that because he was a pensioner he would be less of a target for law enforcement.
“He was wrong, and I hope this case sends out a message to anyone who would consider doing the same. Working with partners like Border Force, the NCA is determined to do all we can to stop class A drugs finding their way into the hands of criminal gangs, and target those involved in helping them.”
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