Wheelchairs, rugs and ovens - some of the bizarre methods smugglers try to get drugs into the UK

Opium in statues, iguanas hidden in socks and a wheelchair stuffed with cocaine are just some of the methods smugglers have tried to get drugs into the UK.

A series of images have been released by the Home Office showing the bizarre ways criminals have tried to get contraband past border controls.

Other methods include drugs tucked away inside rugs, ill-fitting jackets laced with cigarettes and children’s lollipops concealing cocaine.

Border Force officers seized a total of 2.4 tonnes of cocaine and 445 kg of heroin, according to the Home Office.

In one incident Daniel Roque Hall, of north London, stuffed his wheelchair with three kilos of high purity cocaine, found concealed within the removable leather seat.

He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for attempting to smuggle in £370,000 from Peru via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Last May two passengers flying from Lithuania were stopped at Leeds Bradford Airport when officers became suspicious of their bulky jackets.

When they were searched police found the men were carrying almost 30,000 cigarettes including thousands concealed in the specially adapted, yet ill-fitting, jackets.

Last month an attempt was made to smuggle opium into UK using two monkey statues. But Border Force officers at Coventry International Postal Hub found each of the statues containing 1kg of the drug, with a street value of £20,000.

In another incident this April officers at Manchester Airport discovered 50 kilos of heroin wrapped up inside a shipment of carpets, worth more than £5 million.

The heroin haul, which arrived from Pakistan, was one of the biggest ever drug seizures at Manchester Airport.

In February this year two women flying from the Bahamas were stopped at Heathrow with 13 endangered iguanas stuffed into socks and hidden in their suitcase. Twelve survived the journey but one died in transit.

The two Romanian women were jailed for a year.

Overall officers seized 326 ivory items and 93 live animals this year.

Border Force director general, Sir Charles Montgomery, said: “As these pictures show, smugglers are trying increasingly sophisticated methods and we need to stay one step ahead. Fortunately our officers have seen virtually every trick in the book.

“Border Force is the first line of defence in protecting the UK from serious and organised crime. The skill and experience of our officers helps keep drugs and other illegal goods out of the country and off our streets.”