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West Yorkshire drug gang found guilty
A gang charged with shipping cannabis worth millions of pounds from Spain to West Yorkshire under the false floor of a lorry have been found guilty.
A jury at Leeds Crown Court took a total of nearly 22 hours to find five out of seven men who were on trial, guilty of smuggling the drugs.
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The five-week trial heard that between April and June 2009, a HGV was driven and ferried from Spain to Cleckheaton four times.
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Cannabis resin was smuggled into the country each time under a legitimate load as the lorry had a false floor.
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 has heard.
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.
Two men had already pleaded guilty to their part in the alleged conspiracy.
Damion Lister, 36, of St Peg Close, Cleckheaton, who also lives in Spain, had previously admitted conspiring to supply drugs and conspiring to import drugs.
Paul Rowntree, of Ashbury Close, Outwood, Wakefield, had also previously admitted conspiracy to supply drugs.
Lee Scarse, 48, from Wiltshire but who also lives in Spain, helped Lister organise the shipping of the drugs from Spain to the UK.
Conspiracy
He was on trial and found guilty of conspiring to supply drugs and conspiring to import drugs by a unanimous verdict.
The jury also unanimously found Martin Jolliff, 47, of Carr Street,
Cleckheaton, guilty of both charges and Harold Rawson, 62, of Rawson Street, Wyke, unanimously guilty of conspiracy to supply drugs and conspiracy to import drugs by a majority of 10 to two.
The court had heard that 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.
William Thompson senior was found guilty of conspiracy to supply drugs by a majority of 10 to two while his son was cleared of the same charge unanimously.
Police found just under 1m of cannabis in Thompson senior's van which was being followed by Rowntree and Andrew Purcell, 28, of Muirfield Drive, Thornes, Wakefield who was also found unanimously guilty of the same charge.
Then on June 30, the Spanish lorry was seen being driven by Jolliff into his friend's haulage yard at Stanton Works.
Ian Bennett who owns that yard and who was also on trial was unanimously found not guilty of conspiring to supply drugs and conspiring to import drugs.
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.
Sentencing was adjourned until March 26.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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