- Jakub Jan Konkel was sentenced to 13 years and six months for smuggling cocaine.
- He hid over $8.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of Skims clothing.
- The drugs were found in a secret compartment in the truck’s rear trailer doors.
A Polish truck driver has been sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison after he was caught smuggling over $8.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of underwear and clothing from Kim Kardashian's “Skims” brand. Chelmsford Crown Court sentenced Jakub Jan Konkel, 40, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), where he was found guilty of stashing the drugs inside his truck carrying 28 pallets of Skims clothing from the Netherlands.
In September last year, Konkel, who is originally from northern Poland, was stopped by Border Force officers at the Port of Harwich in Essex as he arrived on a ferry from the Hook of Holland. His heavy goods vehicle was X-rayed, which revealed the hidden contraband.
The load was entirely legitimate, and neither the exporter nor importer were connected to the smuggled load. However, the truck had been specially modified, and a hide constructed in the skin of the rear trailer doors.
Investigation revealed that Konkel had stopped on the journey to pick up 90 packages of cocaine, totalling 198 pounds. He then snuck the wrapped bundles into the hidden compartment.
Konkel initially denied knowing anything about the Class A drugs but eventually pleaded guilty to drug smuggling, confessing he agreed to smuggle the drugs for a payment of 4,500 euros.
NCA operations manager Paul Orchard highlighted that organised crime groups often employed people like Konkel to move drug shipments across borders,
“Organised crime groups use corrupt drivers like Konkel to move Class A drugs, often hidden on entirely legitimate loads such as this," said Orchard.
“The detection and investigation have removed a significant amount of cocaine whose profits are lost to the crime group behind the smuggling attempt, and with Konkel they've lost an important enabler," he added.
