Polish lorry driver jailed 13 and a half years for cocaine smuggling in Skims shipment

A Polish lorry driver has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for attempting to smuggle more than seven million pounds worth of cocaine into the United Kingdom, concealed within a shipment of Kim Kardashian's Skims clothing. Jakub Jan Konkel, 40, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to drug smuggling.

Border Force officers intercepted Konkel's heavy goods vehicle at the Port of Harwich in Essex on September 5 last year, as it arrived on a ferry from the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. An x-ray examination of the truck revealed a hidden compartment built into the skin of the rear trailer doors. Inside were 90 packages, each containing one kilogram of cocaine, with a total street value estimated at 7.2 million pounds.

The truck was carrying 28 pallets of legitimate Skims underwear and clothing. Authorities confirmed that neither the exporter nor the importer of the clothing was involved in the smuggling operation. Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) determined that Konkel had made an undeclared 16-minute stop during his journey, which is believed to be when the drugs were loaded onto the specially adapted vehicle.