A jury at Leeds Crown Court has heard that between April and June 2009, a HGV was driven and ferried from Spain to Cleckheaton four times.

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The prosecution said cannabis resin was smuggled into the country each time under a legitimate load as the lorry had a false floor.

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On June 30, police raided Stanton Works haulage yard, in Heaton Street, Cleckheaton,where they found the lorry and 500kg of cannabis resin worth over £2m, the court heard.

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The jury was told this came just months after 200kg of cannabis resin worth just under £1m was collected from the Huntsworth Arms pub car park,in Bradford.

Police stopped a van carrying the load on the A1 which was destined for the North-East.

The gang were under police surveillance , the court heard.

Two men have already pleaded guilty to their part in the alleged conspiracy.

Damion Lister, 36, of St Peg Close, Cleckheaton, who also lives in Spain has admitted conspiring to supply drugs and conspiring to import drugs.

Paul Rowntree, of Ashbury Close, Outwood, Wakefield, has admitted conspiracy to supply drugs.

The prosecution say Lister and Lee Scarse, 48, from Wiltshire but who also lives in Spain, organised the shipping of the drugs from Spain to the UK.

Flight records showed they jetted in and out of the UK at times consistent with the lorry being unloaded.

The men who sold the cannabis are alleged to be Martin Jolliff, 47, of Carr Street, Cleckheaton, and Harold Rawson, 62, of Rawson Street, Wyke.

Rowntree was said to be an intermediary between Jolliff and Rawson and a father and son both called William Thompson, aged 49 and 27, both of County Durham.

The Thompsons were said to be acting as couriers on April 10 when they met Rowntree and Andrew Purcell, 28, Muirfield Drive, Thornes, Wakefield.

The four met in the Huntsworth Arms pub car park where Jolliff also attended before driving off in the Thompsons' van. Jolliff was then seen loading something from his own van into the Thompsons' van. The Thompsons then headed off while followed by Rowntree and Purcell, the prosecution said.

Police stopped the cars and just under £1m of cannabis was found in the Thompsons' van. Then on June 30, the Spanish lorry was seen being driven by Jolliff into his friend's haulage yard at Stanton Works.
Ian Bennett owns that yard and he too is on trial.

Police raided the yard and found Scarse, Jolliff, Rawson and Lister inside with the lorry, tools to open the false floor as well as bags of cannabis and money, the jury heard.

All seven defendants deny conspiring to supply drugs while Jolliff, Rawson, Scarse and Bennett also deny conspiring to import Class B drugs into the country.


Proceeding