Judge: Why did UK let in Lithuanian crook (who then became drug dealer)
A JUDGE has condemned authorities after a Lithuanian criminal with a string of convictions was allowed to enter the country only to start dealing drugs.
Nerijus Jukknevicius had more than 24 previous offences on his record in his home country, including crimes of dishonesty.
But he was allowed to walk across the UK border ‘unchallenged’ and was last month caught trying to shift cannabis worth £200,000. Police were called to a property in Mapperley, Nottingham, at midnight on August 10 when neighbours saw several men loading bags into a van.
Jukknevicius fled when he saw the officers and hid in a garden but was later arrested.
The dealer, from Newham, East London, was given a 16-month jail sentence at Nottingham Crown Court this week after admitting possessing cannabis with intent to supply.
Judge James Sampson told him: ‘It is outrageous that a man with your extensive criminal history can just walk across our borders unchallenged and then engage in serious criminal activity in this country.
‘You came all the way up from London. You knew exactly what you were about.
‘You provided the van and you clearly had an awareness of the scale of this operation.
‘I am told you will be deported in due course – we will see.’
Jon Fountain, prosecuting, said police found 21kg of cannabis including 115 plants and dried flow-
‘Order for deportation’
erheads with an estimated street value of £200,000.
Mr Fountain added: ‘He admitted that he drove the van from London to Nottingham, to an address given to him.’
He told officers that he would have been paid £200 to £300 for the trip but was not aware of ‘the final destination’ of the drugs.
Police are continuing to make ‘further intensive inquiries’ in an attempt to trace the others involved, the court heard. Mr Fountain added: ‘The immigration authority have an order for the deportation of Mr Jukknevicius to Lithuania.’ Jonathan Hullis, defending, said that all Jukknevicius’s family are now in the UK and he will have to start a ‘new life’ alone in Lithuania.
He moved to the UK three years ago, working as a painter and decorator, labourer and scaffolder.
His only payment would have been ‘£200 or £300’ for the delivery job and he was not in line to profit from the sale of the cannabis, added Mr Hullis. The Home Office, which controls the UK’s Border Force, declined to comment.
Foreign offenders have entered the UK under Europe’s free movement laws, which allow EU citizens to live and work across Europe.
Britain can prevent foreign offenders entering the country if they are considered a ‘serious threat’ to public security, but European nations are not compelled to share criminal records of their offenders.
Arnis Zalkalns, a Latvian suspected of murdering 14-year- old schoolgirl Alice Gross before killing himself, entered Britain after serving seven years in his home country for murdering his wife.