His DNA was found on drugs packages but he blamed it on his jumper

Rajesh Bakshi, 57, of Burnside Avenue, Haddington, East Lothian and Jon-Paul Clark, 44, of Coney Crescent in Crosby

A heroin smuggler who argued that he was framed by another man who borrowed his jumper has been jailed for nine years following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.

Jon-Paul Clark, 44, of Coney Crescent in Crosby , organised an importation of 40kg of heroin with conspirator Rajesh Bakshi, 57, of Burnside Avenue, Haddington, East Lothian. Their load, which had a street value of £4million, was stopped at Dover in June 2022 and investigators found Clark’s DNA on the packaging as well as Bakshi’s fingerprints.

Bakshi admitted smuggling the Class A drug but Clark told a jury at Canterbury Crown Court that his DNA was present because Bakshi was wearing his jumper, impl