NEWS COPY – WITH PICTURES – by Ben Cusack
A pair of smugglers have been jailed for importing enough cannabis to get EVERY person in the British Isles stoned.
Steven McDonald, 32, and John Wright, 66, were part of a crime syndicate that brought in 28 tonnes of cannabis over seven years – enough for more than 140 million joints.
McDonald, from Chatham, Kent, and Wright, from Hounslow, north London, were eventually caught after Border Force officers at Harwich port intercepted a consignment of around 300kg of cannabis – disguised as floor tiles.
Cops watched as the lorry, which had come from the Netherlands, as the load was delivered to an address in Whetstone, north London.
McDonald and Wright were spotted dealing with the load, and were arrested.
A search of their homes led to the recovery of drug-dealing ledgers and evidence of at least 20 trips to the Netherlands made by the pair.
The two men admitted conspiring to import class B drugs at a hearing at Luton Crown Court on 16 October 2014.
Wright was sentenced on Friday to nine years and four months, while McDonald was handed an eight-year sentence.
Both will also be banned from traveling outside the UK for ten years after their release.
Detective Inspector Steve Miles said: “These men were involved in drug smuggling on a truly industrial scale over a number of years.
“The potential street value of the cannabis imported as part of this conspiracy would have been in excess of #80 million.
“Using their contacts with criminal networks in the Netherlands they were able to set up elaborate fronts to cover their activities.
“But through our close work with the Dutch authorities and Border Force we were able to unpick that, and disrupt and then dismantle a very significant organised crime group responsible for bringing thousands of kilos of illegal drugs into the UK.”
ENDS
