Judge praises police for busting Leeds student cannabis operation potentially worth up to £20 million

Two Chinese students were jailed at Leeds Crown Court for their part in a conspiracy to import the drug from Canada.

Jinshuo Dong and Jingshu Wang recruited others living in halls of residence to receive packages from North America, which the pair would then collect. The parcels usually contained 1.5kg of cannabis in each.

The operation between Border Force and West Yorkshire Police to bring the drug-smuggling scheme down received praise from Judge Richard Mansell KC, who sentenced the two overseas students to three years’ jail apiece.

He said: “It was a very effective and well-executed operation that brought an end to a very lucrative skunk cannabis business.

“It was a novel method for flooding the market. The importation of cannabis previously in lorries from the continent has become far less prevalent.

“This method was novel and I commend the team for the investigation.”

Border Force were alerted to the drug-smuggling in October of last year and, while working alongside West Yorkshire Police, managed to intercept more than 100 of the parcels. More than 60 could be traced to 24-year-old Dong and 28-year-old Wang.

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They both admitted conspiracy to evade a prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug.

Parcels had been posted to students in halls including The Iconinc Glassworks on Cardigan Road and The Terry Frost Building on Whitelock Street.

The drugs intercepted topped more than £1 million, but it was suggested that much more is likely to have got through undetected, possibly worth up to £20 million on the street.

West Yorkshire Police’s Detective Chief Inspector Michael Herbert, who led the investigation, said: “These men were involved in what was clearly a very significant criminal enterprise importing cannabis into the UK on a huge scale.

“While we recognise that they were relatively ‘foot soldiers’ in what is obviously a much larger criminal network, they had active and significant roles in this operation that was bringing large amounts of drugs to the streets of Leeds and the sentence they have received reflect that.

“Cannabis remains a controlled drug in the UK and its illegal supply fuels other crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities.

“The criminal groups who trade in it at this level are invariably involved in other types of serious and organised crime and the violence that accompanies it and we will continue to work alongside our partner agencies to target those involved.”