Laughing gas gang imported 91 million canisters

Carl Messen, Benjamin Richardson and Thomas Richardson were jailed at Leeds Crown Court

Three men who helped import 91 million canisters of laughing gas into the UK through a series of bogus catering firms have been jailed.

Carl Messen, 58, and twin brothers Thomas and Benjamin Richardson, both 38, brought lorry loads of nitrous oxide into the country between May 2016 and December 2018.

Leeds Crown Court heard the trio also used the fake companies to launder more than £16.7m made from the scheme.

Messen, from Doncaster, and the Richardson brothers, from Barlby, North Yorkshire, were jailed on Thursday after being convicted of conspiracy to import a psychoactive substance following a trial.

Nitrous oxide is used as an anaesthetic in dentistry and medicine. It is also used legitimately in the catering industry as a propellant in whipped cream dispensers.

In 2016 it was made illegal to supply or import nitrous oxide if it was likely to be consumed for its psychoactive effect, and in 2023 it was made a class C drug.

The court heard the gang imported 91,350,000 canisters into the country in two years after the ban came into place.

Investigators say the men laundered £16.7m through a series of bogus catering companies

The trio created companies alluding to the catering industry, such as Worldwide Coffee Traders Ltd, Catering Pantry International Ltd and Barista Distribution Ltd in a bid to cover their tracks, police said.

Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) found their sole trade was in nitrous oxide.

Investigators discovered more than £16.7m was deposited into the firm's accounts, more than £12m of which was deposited in cash.

Ramona Senior, head of operations at YHROCU, said: "This was an organised enterprise whose sole purpose was importing a psychoactive substance into the UK to be used illegally.

"Despite it being made illegal, this group continued to trade in nitrous oxide while fully knowing its ultimate use was to be sold as a drug."

The gang imported lorry loads of laughing gas canisters into the UK

She added: "They made vast profits from their activities and structured their businesses in a way that tried to conceal their activities and to launder their ill-gotten income."

Messen, of South Farm Drive, Skellow, was jailed for three years and six months after being convicted of conspiracy to import a psychoactive substance, money laundering and possessing criminal cash.

Benjamin Richardson, of The Laurels, Barlby, was jailed for six years and two months after he was also found guilty of the same charges.

Thomas Richardson, of Rosegarth, Barlby, was jailed for five years and eight months after being convicted of conspiracy to import a psychoactive substance and money laundering.

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