Pensioner who smuggled £640,000 worth of cocaine in mobility scooter jailed

A pensioner who attempted to smuggle cocaine worth more than £600,000 into the UK hidden in his mobility scooter has been jailed.

Eight kilograms of the drug was found in the back seat panel of Ronald Lord’s scooter after he was stopped at Gatwick Airport on February 7 2025, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

The discovery was made after Border Force staff X-rayed the vehicle, according to the agency.

The 71-year-old claimed to have been on a seven-day holiday to Barbados and that he was coming to the UK to sightsee, the NCA added.

Lord, from Montreal in Canada, told investigators he did not know how the drug had got into his scooter and denied any knowledge.

However, the screw from the scooter seat panel was found in the pensioner’s pocket following a search.

Experts at the NCA valued the cocaine found at around £640,000 at street-level prices, according to the agency.

Lord pleaded guilty to class A drug smuggling charges at a hearing at Croydon Crown Court on August 5 and was sentenced to six years in prison at the same court on September 5, the NCA said.

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Richard Wickham said: “Organised crime groups need smugglers like Lord to bring class A drugs into the UK, where 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, and I hope this case sends out a message to anyone who would consider doing the same.

“Working with partners like Border Force, the NCA is determined to do all we can to stop class A drugs finding their way into the hands of criminal gangs, and target those involved in helping them.”