A MAN has been jailed for more than five years after trying to bring hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of heroin into the country.

Adam Wimana, 46, of Peel Court, Slough, was caught with 6.74kg of the Class A drug by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport on January 11 this year.

The street value of the haul is believed to be an eyewatering £630,000.

Wimana had travelled all the way from Africa with his shipment – going completely undetected right up until the British border.

His trafficking mission was finally stopped in its tracks when he arrived at Heathrow Terminal 4 on a flight from Nairobi, Kenya. He had travelled to Nairobi from Zanzibar, Tanzania.

One of his suitcases was searched by officers and they found that it was still heavy once it had been emptied. The powder was discovered stashed away in the top and the base of the case and tested positive for heroin.

After the first discovery, officers searched his other bags and found more of the powder concealed in the same way.

Wimana – a British national – was arrested on suspicion of the importation of a controlled drug and the case was passed to officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) for investigation.

He was jailed for five years and four months at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday, February 28, having admitted the offence.

He will also have a two-year Travel Restriction Order imposed on his release and his passport will be confiscated.

Border Force Heathrow Director Phil Douglas said: “A significant amount of heroin has been prevented from ending up on our streets limiting the harm to our communities. This seizure will also have affected the criminals where it matters most – a significant dent in their profits.”

The Border Force supports counter terrorism, aims to tackle trafficking, illegal immigration and serious organised crime by using techniques such as sniffer dogs, carbon monoxide and heartbeat monitors and scanners to find well-hidden stowaways. Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to smuggling can call Border Force’s hotline on 0800 59 5000.