SKIMS has found itself in an extraordinary predicament. A delivery driver in the United Kingdom, Jakub Jan Konkel, was arrested and charged with smuggling over £7 million (approximately $9.5 million) worth of cocaine in a truck carrying Kim Kardashian's clothing brand. The National Crime Agency confirmed this in a May 18 press release.
Konkel was stopped by Border Force officers in Essex in September as he arrived on a ferry from the Netherlands. After 28 pallets of SKIMS products were x-rayed, authorities stated that the load was "entirely legitimate and neither the exporter nor importer were connected to the smuggled load." However, the vehicle was specially adapted to conceal the skin of the rear trailer door, which led to "90 packages each containing 1kg of cocaine, with a street value of around £7.2 million."
Konkel's tachograph—a device inside commercial vehicles that records its speed and distance—documented a 16-minute stop that he did not declare during his interview with the NCA. The agency believes this was when the drugs were loaded onto his truck.
Although Konkel initially denied knowing anything about the cocaine packages, he eventually pleaded guilty to drug smuggling, confessing that he had done so for a payment of €4,500 (about $5,200). The 40-year-old was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison, as confirmed by the NCA.
"Organized crime groups use corrupt drivers like Konkel to move Class A drugs, often hidden on entirely legitimate loads such as this," said NCA operations manager Paul Orchard in the press release. "The detection and investigation have removed a significant amount of cocaine whose profits are lost to the crime group behind the smuggling attempt, and with Konkel, they've lost an important enabler."
Meanwhile, Border Force Assistant Director Jason Thorn emphasized how drug traffickers smuggling illegal substances into the U.K. have disrupted local communities. "These drugs destroy lives and inflict misery on our communities," he added in the announcement. "We continue to work around the clock to relentlessly pursue criminality, protect our borders, and keep these dangerous drugs off our streets."
In response to the news, the fashion company addressed the arrest. "SKIMS is aware of the recent news involving a shipment with our products," the brand shared in a statement with E! News. "We want to be absolutely clear: SKIMS had no knowledge whatsoever about this criminal activity. We had no connection to the smuggling operation, the driver, or the truck."
