A member of an organised crime group has been jailed for his involvement in an attempt to import cocaine worth £9.2 million into the north east of England.

Polish national Lucasz Sienkiewicz

Sienkiewicz was convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court on 8 July last year for attempting to import cocaine, and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment at the same court on 7 November.

Border Force officers had stopped a lorry delivering machine parts from the Netherlands, and discovered blocks of cocaine in the spare tyres from an x-ray of the vehicle.

The blocks were concealed in packages and collectively weighed 115 kilograms. If cut and sold on the streets of the UK, the contents would have been worth in the region of £9.2 million. It is the largest seizure of cocaine ever made at The Port of Tyne.

Data recovered by NCA officers from the lorry driver’s phone showed contact with Sienkiewicz, who was near the port in another vehicle on the same day.

Sienkiewicz was arrested at his home in Benwell, Newcastle, two months later.

Investigators were able to piece further information together when they recovered phones belonging to Sienkiewicz, including an encrypted EncroChat handset.

Messages suggested that Sienkiewicz would take delivery of and distribute the cocaine via organised crime links in the UK.
16 September 2023

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