A DRUG smuggler tried to get his hands back on his £45,000 haul of cannabis hours after being stopped by customs officers.

The man had been detained after driving the hired car from Sussex to Wales, where he planned to make the ferry crossing to Ireland.

He was questioned by officers over irregularities in his paperwork, and the Renault Laguna was picked up and returned to the hire company in Worthing.

As soon as he was released, the man contacted Thrifty Car Rentals demanding to hire exactly the same vehicle, hoping to recover the drugs hidden inside.

But company managing director Alan Clarke was suspicious and alerted customs officers at Newhaven.

They searched the car and discovered the 7.5kg of cannabis resin hidden in the side panels.

Alan, 52, said: "There was something about the way he acted on the telephone.

Premises

"He kept saying he wanted to hire the Laguna again. He said he didn't want another car and he became very adamant and sounded a little bit tense. He said he thought he had lost something in it."

Anti-smuggling officers went to his premises in Southdownview Way, Worthing. They stripped the car down and found the drugs.

Alan said: ""I had no idea there were drugs in the car. It is a relief because if we had hired the car to someone else and they had been stopped at customs with those drugs in it, anything could have happened.

"It was a tremendous shock to see the amount of drugs come out of there. I think we all did a pretty good job in the circumstances.

"We have an agreement that we always give customs our co-operation. This has never happened before though."

Alan said the man began making increasingly desperate telephone calls as soon as he returned to Brighton. He added: "We were told the man had been detained because of an immigration problem, so we picked it up and brought itback.

Six people have now been arrested in the Brighton and Hove area. They were released without charge pending further inquiries.

Officers have also searched homes in Brighton and Hove and recovered a further 5.75kg of cannabis, two ecstasy tablets and 14 cannabis plants.

Customs spokesman Bob Gaiger said: "We are delighted that Thrifty Car Rentals contacted us as soon as their suspicions were aroused.

"This is a very good example of how businesses and the general public can help us in the fight against drugs."

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