A GOVERNMENT scientist who led a double life as a drugs courier was jailed after being caught trying to smuggle more than £300,000 worth of cocaine through Durham Tees Valley.

Danish engineering expert Jan Dedichen, who worked for the Ugandan government, was recruited by criminals in Africa to help flood the UK with drugs.

He was locked up for eight-and-a-half years yesterday - on his 65th birthday.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the airport on the outskirts of Darlington was probably selected because drug cartels believed there was less chance of smugglers being caught.

Judge John Walford was told that Dedichen flew from Nairobi in Kenya to Amsterdam and then on to Durham Tees Valley five days before Christmas last year.

Three-and-a-half kilos of cocaine with a street value of £315,315 was found in a brown tape-wrapped package hidden among towels and tissues in Dedichen's soft-sided suitcase.

The twice-married scientist denied knowing anything about the drugs, but examinations of his mobile phone linked him to a suspected "Mr Big" in London and a contact in Africa.

Yesterday, the father-of-one pleaded guilty to being knowlingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation of goods - a class A drug.

The court heard that travel records showed Dedichen had made nine journeys from Africa to the UK via Amsterdam - into Durham Tees Valley twice before and airports such as Leeds-Bradford and Humberside.

Judge Walford said: "I hope that the success of this operation will encourage greater security and tighter controls on those who come into this country and, indeed, what they bring, at all points of entry."

Martin Mulgrew, mitigating, said Dedichen was a highly-respected businessman who launched his own company in 2002 working with solar energy and bio-fuels.

Last year, he started working with the government in Uganda developing environmentally-friendly forms of transport and the sale of minerals and precious metals.

Mr Mulgrew said Dedichen was put under pressure from "much more criminally sophisticated individuals" to become a courier.

He added: "That a man of his age with hitherto good character and an unblemished work record finds himself on his 65th birthday in court for an offence of this nature is nothing short of a tragedy."

David Odd, HM Revenue and Customs Head of Investigation said: "HM Revenue and Customs officers at the UK's airports and ports are extremely vigilant and we are determined to stop all drugs reaching our streets.

"The removal of a significant amount of cocaine from the criminal supply chain shows our commitment to reduce the availability of harmful drugs on the streets of Teesside.

"This case should send out a strong warning message to anyone tempted to smuggle drugs. This is a serious offence and carries suitably serious custodial penalties.