'Corrupt' lorry driver said he made ‘mistake’ but was ‘threatened’ before being jailed for 13 years for plot to ship £118m of cocaine into port

Ahmet Aydin, 48, of no fixed address, said he was ‘scared’ and ‘used’ before he was jailed at Portsmouth Crown Court having changed his plea to guilty of conspiracy to import Class A drugs during the course of the trial. Portico insider David Oliver, 44, of Cornwall Road, Portsmouth, was locked away for 14 years after playing a ‘significant role’ in the smuggling operation having pleaded guilty to the same offence before the trial started.

They were jailed after more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine – worth £118m – was discovered in April onboard cargo ship Atlantic Clipper by Dutch police in the port city of Flushing, part of the ship’s route from Turbo, in Colombia, to Portsmouth. Authorities had allowed the vessel to continue to the Portico cargo terminal at Portsmouth. When the ship docked, border force officers replaced the cocaine with dummy blocks and audio equipment.

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The court was told Aydin did not present any paperwork when he arrived at the dock before two pallets were loaded onto his lorry. He drove the lorry with the two pallets to Sutton Scotney Service Station, near Winchester, but refused to go further. It was then driven north by another driver.

At the sentence hearing, a letter from Aydin to the judge was read out in which he expressed his sorrow before suggesting he was a victim of intimidation to commit the crime. ‘I would like to apologise to you and your country very much. I made a mistake for the first time in my life,’ he said.

Aydin went on to say he was ‘very scared’ and did ‘not know what to do’, before adding: ‘They threatened me and said they would give me a lot of money. I did not go because I have children and an unwell wife. They deceived me and used me.’

Aydin finished off his letter by saying: ‘I would like you to forgive me.’

Judge Michael Bowes KC said the quantity of drugs meant they were ‘off the scale’ of the sentencing guidelines before he told the defendants: ‘The smuggling operation necessitated a person on the inside - a corrupt employee of Portico - to be a knowing participant of the operation along with a willing lorry driver to collect the cocaine and take it to the next destination.’

He told Aydin, of previous good character, his was a ‘lesser role’ while taking note of him distancing himself from the conspiracy to some extent, though this was ‘only after the risk of detection dawned on you’.

Amid claims Aydin thought he would receive only £5,000 for his part, the judge added: ‘I find you did understand the scale of the operation and this was more than a minimal financial award.’

The judge found that Oliver, of previous good character, played a ‘significant role’ and used his ‘skills’ as cargo and distribution planner to search for pallets and notify others. The court heard Oliver received £50,000 transferred into his bank in August and £81,000 paid in over a 12 month period while on an £30,000 salary.