Dutchman jailed after bogus ambulance firm is caught smuggling drugs into UK

A Dutchman who set up a bogus ambulance firm to smuggle “truly colossal” amounts of heroin and cocaine into the UK has been jailed for 24 years.

Olof Schoon pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to sneak an estimated £1.2bn worth of Class A drugs into Britain using “a fleet” of specially-adapted ambulances.

The married father of three showed no emotion in the dock as a judge also jailed two other men involved in the 14-month conspiracy.

Leonardus Bijlsma, who acted as Schoon’s right-hand man and used a rivet gun to conceal drugs inside ambulances, was jailed for 28 years after being convicted by a jury.

Richard Engelsbel was given an 18-year jail term after admitting that he acted as a driver or driver’s mate on 25 smuggling trips.

Schoon’s apparently legitimate firm — International Ambulance Team — owned a fleet of emergency vehicles costing €220,000.

The trio were arrested in June near a Dutch-registered ambulance in a car park near Birmingham.

Numerous 1kg wraps of high purity cocaine and heroin with a wholesale value of around £10m were found in secret compartments inside the vehicle.

More than 40 similar trips using ferries had taken place since April 2014.