AN OAP tried to smuggle £640,000 of cocaine into the UK by stashing it in his mobility scooter.

Canadian Ronald Lord, 71, said he had been on holiday in Barbados and was here for sightseeing when stopped at Gatwick.

Border Force officers put his scooter through an X-ray machine and found 8kg of the Class A drug hidden within the back-panel of his seat.

He denied knowing how the coke got there, but a screw from the panel was discovered in his pocket in the February search.

Lord admitted drug smuggling at Croydon crown court and was jailed for six years.

Richard Wickham, from the National Crime Agency, said: “Organised crime groups need smugglers like Lord to bring class A drugs into the UK.

“They are sold for huge profit by gangs who deal in violence and exploitation.

“He obviously thought that because he was a pensioner he would be less of a target for law enforcement.

“He was wrong.

“I hope this case sends out a message to anyone who would consider doing the same.”

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