Andrew Burns, a senior supervisor at DHL in Bar Hill, used his position to ensure that two boxes containing 32 kilos of cocaine were diverted

Andrew Burns, a senior supervisor at DHL in Bar Hill, used his position to ensure that two boxes containing 32 kilos of cocaine were diverted from their intended route and passed on to a criminal organisation.The boxes had been dispatched from Venezuela to an unwitting company in Peterborough.The crime came to light after an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
Burns, 36, of Hardy Close, Longstanton, was jailed at Cambridge Crown Court. He was found guilty of a charge of conspiracy to contravene Section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, contrary to Section 1.1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.
Burns pleaded not guilty, but the jury gave a unanimous guilty verdict.
A spokesman for DHL said: "DHL Express takes its responsibilities as the UK's leading express delivery and logistics company very seriously. We do not tolerate illegal activity occurring within our network. "We are aware that Mr Burns, a former employee of DHL, was sentenced this week in the Cambridge Crown Court in connection with conspiracy to import narcotics."We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and we worked closely with the police to help identify the suspected illegal activity. Co-operation with police and relevant authorities went very well, and we are satisfied that the narcotics were prevented from entering the public domain. At the time, Mr Burns was also dealt with in line with the company's disciplinary policy."DHL is a highly regulated business with strict security policies and procedures in place which our security staff work diligently to enforce. We have an excellent record in enforcing security restrictions and believe our procedures are robust."