The cocaine dealer has been incarcerated for seven and a half years after fleeing from the police and hiding in a children’s playhouse.
Robert Stewart, 32, was caught with 57 kilograms of Class A drugs worth £4.5 million in overnight bags.
Stewart didn’t know he was under the supervision of… National Crime Bureau officers as he nears a parking lot Luton Airport on April 23.
When officers entered, he tried to escape, jumped a fence at the back of a pub and threw the keys to his van into a bush in Luton Road, Harpenden.
The NCA enlisted the support of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Policeas well as the power helicopter.
Stewart was found a short time later in a playhouse in a nearby yard.
In the back of his van, officers discovered the suitcases with drugs. A search revealed two empty, purpose-built and hydraulically operated shelters in the vehicle.
Stewart, of Broadwater Gardens, Orpingtonpleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs at Luton Crown Court on May 23. He was convicted on Friday.
Robert Stewart didn’t know he was under surveillance
/ National Crime BureauAdam Berry, NCA Branch Manager, said: “I have no doubt that if he hadn’t stopped, those drugs would have ended up on the streets of South East England, in the hands of gangs bringing violence and exploitation to our communities.
“We are grateful to the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Police for their support in this operation, and we remain committed to doing everything we can to crack down on and disrupt the organized networks involved in the distribution of Class A drugs.”
Sergeant Julian Byrne, of the Bedfordshire Police Airport Police Team, said: “I want to pay tribute to our officers for arresting Stewart.
“His involvement in drug trafficking shows that he is a dangerous person, and it is positive that he will no longer bring harmful substances into our communities.
“We are determined to protect our county from the scourge of drugs and will work quickly to arrest those believed to be involved.”