A Polish lorry driver who tried to smuggle cannabis with a street value of £1.2 million into the UK through a Kent port by hiding it in a load of fresh pasta has been jailed.

Leszek Bieszka, 28, was stopped by UK Border Agency officers at the Port of Ramsgate in mid-June.

The drugs - cannabis resin and herbal cannabis with a combined weight of more than 440kg - were found stashed in the back of his truck.

Bieszka was charged with being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition of controlled drugs.

He initially withheld his plea but pleaded guilty at a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on August 16. He was jailed yesterday for five years and ten months.

Speaking after sentencing, Malcolm Bragg, assistant director of criminal and financial investigations for the UK Border Agency, said: "The UK Border Agency plays a key role in the fight to stop drugs entering the UK and to reduce the harm they do to our communities.

"We aim to protect society from the violence and corruption that can accompany the trade in illegal drugs."

The UK Border Agency uses sophisticated search equipment to detect banned or restricted goods and to combat immigration crime at ports like Ramsgate.

Sniffer dogs, carbon monoxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners are also used to find hidden stowaways and illegal drugs, firearms and cigarettes.