THREE men were allegedly involved in smuggling crack cocaine and heroin with a street value of more than £1 million, Bolton Crown Court was told.

A jury heard yesterday how a secret compartment in a lorry was used to smuggle 17 kilos of pure cocaine and heroin from Europe to the UK.

Once the drugs were "cut" -- mixed with other substances to reduce purity and make them go further -- they could have been sold on the street for much more than the £1 million value estimated by customs officers.

Six months before police swooped and found the stash, the driver of the same lorry, Michael Hatton, of Thistleton Road, Deane, had been stopped carrying almost a third of a million pounds in cash in carrier bags he was taking to Europe, the jury was told. Customs and Excise officers suspected him of trying to launder the illegal profits from drug dealing.

The court was told that customs officers co-operated with Belgian police in tracking the lorry across several countries.

Officers kept the lorry under surveillance for many weeks and pounced as the drug was allegedly transferred from the lorry to a four-wheel drive vehicle in Liverpool.

Haulage company boss Victor Davies, Hatton, and mechanic Thomas Bradley were arrested in the swoop at Vic Davies Transport in Knowsley Industrial Estate.

Paul O'Brien, prosecuting, said: "The box contained 19 packages and forensic examination showed that 16 kilos were 100 per cent pure crack cocaine powder and one kilo was 100 per cent pure heroin with a street value of in excess of £1 million.

"But as the purity of cocaine and heroin on the streets averages 68 per cent, then the drug could be sold for considerably more than £1 million."

Davies, aged 48, of Platt Bridge, Wigan; Thomas Bradley, aged 37, of Knightswood, Deane; and Hatton, aged 38, are accused of being knowingly involved in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of goods.

Davies faces two further charges of attempting to remove from the jurisdiction the proceeds of his drug trafficking.

Hatton faces two charges of knowing or suspecting that a quantity of bank notes were the proceeds of drug trafficking and he attempted to remove them to assist another person to avoid prosecution. All three men deny all the charges.

Mr O'Brien said the prosecution alleged the principal villain was Davies who, as a drug smuggler, was assisted by Hatton and Bradley.

(Proceeding)

Stratton Drive,