Jakub Jan Konkel Gets 3.5 Years for Smuggling £7.2 Million Cocaine in SKIMS Load

17 articles · Updated · E! NEWS · May 20

Jakub Jan Konkel, 40, was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months after admitting he smuggled 90 kilograms of cocaine worth about £7.2 million into the UK.
Essex border officers stopped his truck arriving by ferry from the Netherlands in September and found 90 one-kilogram packages hidden in a specially adapted rear trailer door.
A tachograph recorded an undeclared 16-minute stop, which the National Crime Agency said was likely when the drugs were loaded; Konkel said he was to be paid €4,500.
The 28 pallets of SKIMS products were legitimate, authorities said, and neither the exporter nor importer was linked to the smuggling; SKIMS separately said it had no knowledge of the operation.
The NCA said organized crime groups increasingly use corrupt drivers and legitimate commercial loads to move Class A drugs, making supply chains a target for border enforcement.

With cocaine hidden in Skims clothing, how are legitimate supply chains exploited by international drug cartels?

As traffickers shift to smaller ports, is the UK becoming the new weak link in Europe's drug defenses?