Appeal to trace £7m cocaine haul suspect Lee Hartness
- Published
An arrest warrant was issued for Lee Hartness when he failed to appear in court
The National Crime Agency has appealed for help finding a man wanted over an attempt to import millions of pounds of cocaine into the UK.
Border officials at Dover found more than 90kg of the drug hidden in a compartment in a lorry trailer in November 2016.
The vehicle's driver, Lee Hartness, 47, of Carlisle, was charged with importing Class A drugs but did not appear at an August 2018 court hearing.
A warrant was issued for his arrest.
The vehicle had arrived from France and the NCA said the cocaine would have had a street value of £7.2m once cut and adulterated.
Mr Hartness is British, 6ft (1.82m) tall and of medium build. He speaks with a northern accent.
Both his arms are heavily tattooed with Japanese flower designs and he has a dragon and serpent tattoo on his chest, the NCA said.
He is known to have connections in Newcastle and Northern Ireland.
Two other suspects, brothers Glen and Andrew Harrison, were bailed and are due to stand trial at Canterbury Crown Court in February in relation to a second importation attempt.