A man who was arrested after he was seen loading boxes of cocaine with a street value of up to £6million from the back of a lorry into his car in Colchester has claimed he was acting under duress.

Giving evidence during his trial at Ipswich Crown Court, Neranjan Persaud claimed that threats had been made against him and his family by the gang behind the importation.

Cross-examined by prosecution counsel, Gareth Hughes, Persaud denied the claim of duress was a “pre-planned story” and that he was part of the criminal gang.

Persaud insisted that he had only been a courier acting under instruction and wasn’t higher up in the organisation.

Persaud, 60, of London, and lorry driver Kryzstof Bakowski, 63, of no fixed address, have pleaded not guilty to being knowingly involved in the illegal importation of 50kg of cocaine on December 7 last year.

They have also both denied being concerned in the supply of 50kg of cocaine and Persaud has denied being concerned in the supply of just under 1kg of cocaine on November 30 last year.

East Anglian Daily Times: Two men have gone on trial at Ipswich Crown CourtTwo men have gone on trial at Ipswich Crown Court (Image: Lewis Adams/Newsquest)

It has been alleged that police saw Persaud park his car in Newcomen Way in Colchester at about 8am on December 7 last year and speak to Bakowski who was the driver of an articulated lorry which had stopped nearby.

Persaud was seen to carry five identical cardboard boxes to his car from the back of the lorry before police intervened and arrested him and Bakowski.

The court heard that the boxes of drugs contained 50 one kilogram packages of high-quality cocaine with a wholesale value of £1.3m to £1.5m and a potential street value of between £4m and £6m.

Mr Hughes alleged that a week before his arrest in Colchester, Persaud had delivered a carrier bag containing 1kg of cocaine to a man in Letchworth.