LONDON: Four Dutch men have appeared in court accused of smuggling £38million-worth of class A drugs into the UK in an ambulance.
Packets of cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and ecstasy were found in secret compartments in the Dutch-registered vehicle.
The ambulance – complete with state-of-the-art equipment inside – was followed from Holland to the West Midlands.
Detectives from the National Crime Agency swooped on the suspected smuggling gang in Smethwick in June.
Olof Schoon, 38, Leonardus Bijlsma, 55, Dennis Vogelaar, 28, and Richard Engelsbel, 51, were later charged with drug offences.
The men, who live in or near Amsterdam, did not enter pleas when they appeared at Birmingham Crown Court.
They were remanded into custody and will appear at the same court on October 2.
A three-week trial is expected to begin in November.
