DAILY BATTLE TO BEAT THE DRUG SMUGGLERS

Smugglers are targeting the North East to try and sneak heroin and
cocaine into the country. Yesterday, we told how a cocaine blizzard
was sweeping across the North East, with prices dropping
dramatically. Today, we lift the lid on the crooks trying to bring
the deadly drugs into the region. The Chronicle spent a day
undercover with HM Revenue & Customs at the Tyne Commission Quay
ferry terminal, in North Shields. Officers told of their daily battle
against villains who go to great lengths to conceal their killer drugs.

And Customs revealed they have made three big cocaine seizures in the
last few months, reflecting the rise in popularity of the so-called party drug.

John Kinghorn, HMRC head of detection for the North, said: "Cocaine
is the social drug now and we can tell that by the vast quantities we
are seizing compared with previous years.

"Locally, nationally and internationally, what we seize changes over the years.

"We have been getting cannabis for years, then there was a period
when Ecstasy was popular, now it's cocaine."

Every morning, another ferry arrives at Tyne Commission Quay from
Amsterdam, in Holland.

During his shift at the terminal, our reporter watched as sniffer
dogs probed cars and luggage coming in.

Officers studied passengers coming through the gates, looking for
tell-tale signs of smuggling.

Others searched for hidden compartments in bags and vehicles. The
three large seizures were:

* Around 1.25kgs of cocaine, worth UKP62,000, concealed in a car
being driven by a male UK national in August. A man has been charged
and is currently on remand.

* Around 30grams of cocaine that had been swallowed by Dutchman,
Sidney Lopez, 24, in July. Lopez was jailed for two and a half years.
It took three days for the drugs to be flushed out of his system.

* More than UKP61,000 worth of cocaine, equal to 1.2kg, was found
welded into the shoes of Dutchman Rudie Kruithof, 44, in June.
Kruithof, paid UKP500 to make the trip, was jailed for four years by
Newcastle Crown Court.

Drugs smuggled into the region can be destined for Tyneside, or any
other part of the UK.

But before it hits our streets, it will have zig-zagged its way
across the world.

Mr Kinghorn added: "Cocaine is routed from South America into the
middle of Europe, usually Spain of Portugal.

"Then it travels up to the low countries and that's when it will make
it on to ferries that come into North Shields.

"Smuggling is not a new thing. It's been going on for hundreds of
years and they will use whatever method they think they can get away with."

And the cash made from drug deals can be traced back to international
crime gangs dotted all over the globe.

Mr Kinghorn said: "The Mr Bigs tend to place themselves in places
like Spain or Portugal.

"They never actually touch the stuff but live off the proceeds of crime.

"People lower down the drug chain will be recruited to carry the
drugs through ports and airports.

"Then, people even further down the food chain will be the ones who
are dealing it on the streets."

HMRC officers have the power of arrest and crooks caught smuggling
can face up to 14 years in jail.

The officers use a range of methods to thwart the smugglers and will
study passenger lists before ferries set sail.

Mr Kinghorn said: "We're intelligence-led and we work with police to
target known traffickers and build up profiles.

"Then we've got the use of X-ray machines and the sniffer dogs.

"But most of all, it comes down to the awareness of the officers, who
look at the body language of people coming through the entry doors."

A coroner has warned of the deadly effects of cocaine.

Newcastle coroner David Mitford has urged Tynesiders not to treat the
Class A substance as a so-called party drug.

Speaking at the inquests of two men in recent weeks, he issued the
warning to all users who think the drug is safe.

Car mechanic Donald Percival, 41, of Cresswell Street, Cowgate,
Newcastle, died from taking cocaine just weeks after he was set to
face charges of sexual assault.

At a Newcastle inquest into Mr Percival's death, his live-in partner
Sylvia Denholm, told how she woke to find him having fits in bed next
to her, in the early hours of July 17.

A known cocaine-user, Mr Percival had argued with Miss Denholm that
night after she discovered he had been taking the drug.

The couple had left a wedding around midnight and walked back to
their Cowgate home. After falling asleep together, Miss Denholm woke
to find Mr Percival having fits and she called an ambulance.

He died shortly after in Newcastle General Hospital, and a post
mortem revealed Mr Percival had been taking drugs.

Dr Peter Cooper, consultant pathologist at Newcastle Royal Victoria
Infirmary, said: "Fitting is one of those things that often happens
with cocaine and sudden death is another well-recognised effect."

Recording a verdict of death by drug abuse, Mr Mitford said: "I've
dealt with numerous deaths from cocaine and if there is a view that
cocaine is a safe drug, that is wrong.

"It's a lethal killer and it is a means of bringing your life to an
end. The sooner people realise that the better."

And the coroner issued a similar warning in the case of metal erector
Henry Morgan, 35. Mr Morgan, who died on July 31, would drink heavily
and was known by his girlfriend Alison Stewart to take cocaine.

They had a child together and lived at Homesdale Road, Cowgate. Mr
Morgan had been out the evening before to the British Legion Club and
came home and fell asleep.

Ms Stewart found him in a state of collapse the next morning. A post
mortem revealed morphine and cocaine were in his blood and a verdict
of death by drug abuse was recorded.

Mr Mitford said: "I deal with lots of cases where people's lives have
come to an end due to taking drugs. These things are illicit, they
are dangerous and they lead to death."