LONDON — A truck driver in the United Kingdom was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison on Monday after he was convicted of smuggling $9.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of underwear and clothing from Skims, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand, authorities said.
According to the National Crime Agency, Jakub Jan Konkel, 40, of Kartuzy, Poland, received a 13-year, 6-month sentence at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Konkel was driving a truck carrying 28 pallets of Skims clothing from the Netherlands when he was detained by border officials in September at a port in Essex, according to The Associated Press.
Authorities said Konkel arrived in the United Kingdom on a ferry from the Hook of Holland, Netherlands, the National Crime Agency said.
Konkel’s truck was X-rayed at the port. Officials said the clothing load was legitimate and said neither the exporter nor the importer were involved in the crime.
According to police, Konkel picked up 198 pounds of cocaine. His truck was specially adapted so he could hide the drugs, wrapped in 90 2.2-pound packages, in a compartment of the truck’s back doors, the AP reported.
After initially denying any involvement, Konkel pleaded guilty to drug smuggling, the National Crime Agency said. He admitted that he accepted $5,243 to smuggle the drugs into the country.
“Organized crime groups use corrupt drivers like Konkel to move Class A drugs often hidden on entirely legitimate loads such as this,” National Crime Agency operations manager Paul Orchard said in a statement. “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.
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