14 years for ac drug smuggler

UK: A man who smuggled drugs into the UK in air conditioning units has been sentenced to 14 years for drug, fraud and money laundering offences at Liverpool Crown Court.

Simon Dutton, 40, originally from Bolton, was arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece, in December 2015.

Using a series of false identities was on the run for six years, before being tracked down in Greece and brought back to the UK.

He was wanted in connection with a conspiracy to import class A drugs into the UK using an unsuspecting courier service. The 10.5kg of cocaine, with a street value of £1.5m, was concealed within four separate shipments of air conditioners from Spain between July and September 2009. 

Dutton and his associates also set up a company in Leeds called Cool Technics to enable the shipments to enter the UK.