Cocaine hidden inside Kim Kardashian brand clothing... what’s the story?

In one of the biggest drug smuggling cases seen at British ports in recent times, authorities in the United Kingdom revealed the seizure of a cocaine shipment estimated to be worth about $9.3 million, hidden inside a consignment of underwear belonging to the famous Skims brand owned by American reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

The UK’s National Crime Agency announced on Monday that a British court had sentenced a truck driver to prison after convicting him of smuggling about £7 million (equivalent to $9.4 million) worth of cocaine inside a clothing shipment arriving from the Netherlands.

According to authorities, the defendant, 40-year-old Jakub Jan Konkel, was driving a truck carrying 28 pallets of clothing from the Skims brand, which specializes in shapewear and underwear, when he was stopped by border officials at a port in Essex last September.

The National Crime Agency said Konkel had stopped during his journey to collect about 90 kilograms of cocaine, noting that the truck had been specially modified to conceal the drugs inside a secret compartment in the rear doors. The narcotics were packed in one-kilogram parcels.

Investigations confirmed that the clothing shipment itself was entirely legitimate, and that the exporting and importing companies had no connection to the smuggling operation or to the seized drugs.

During the investigation, Konkel admitted that he had agreed to transport the shipment in exchange for 4,500 euros (about $5,243), according to the agency.

Chelmsford Crown Court sentenced him to 13 and a half years in prison after convicting him of drug smuggling offenses.