A lorry driver has been jailed for nine years after trying to smuggle 24kg of cocaine hidden around a bunk bed.

Robertas Trimailovas, 46, from Alytus in Lithuania, pleaded guilty over the drugs, which would have been worth about £1 million on the streets of the UK.

The huge haul was discovered after he was stopped at Dover on April 5.

Lorry driver Robertas Trimailovas
Lorry driver Robertas Trimailovas (NCA)

Border Force officers scoured the cab of the Lithuanian-registered lorry and found the cocaine hidden in three spaces in the lining surrounding the driver’s bunk bed.

Trimailovas was interviewed by National Crime Agency officers and charged with importing a class A drug.

He pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday, and was sentenced to nine years at the same court on Friday.

Martin Grace, Dover branch commander for the NCA, said: “Drug runners like Trimailovas should be in no doubt about our determination to catch them and bring them to justice.

“Class A drugs bring violence and exploitation to our communities, and working with partners like Border Force we are committed to disrupting the organised crime groups involved.”