Drugs smuggler James Mulvey jailed for trafficking racket
- Published
James Mulvey smuggled drugs with an estimated street value of £68m in 15 trips
The kingpin of a multimillion-pound drugs trafficking racket has been jailed for 32 years for conspiring to import and export class A and B drugs on an industrial scale.
A two-year investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) saw James Mulvey, 42, of Solihull, convicted on Wednesday.
The trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard how 150 investigators from several countries worked to catch him.
The NCA said he operated like a ghost.
He was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to import cannabis, one count of conspiracy to export cocaine and conspiracy to export cannabis.
The activities of the haulage firm boss became of interest to the authorities following a tip-off from a Belgian warehouse worker.
The subsequent investigation revealed how Mulvey's legitimate firm was used to transport cocaine and cannabis in metal rollers stored in the Worcestershire village of Inkberrow.
Mulvey was eventually arrested in March 2017 in Lithuania where he was living with his girlfriend
About 364kg of cannabis and 20kg of cocaine was trafficked in a trip from the Netherlands to Belgium, England and the Irish Republic between 2006 and 2007.
The NCA said this and 14 other identical trips saw Mulvey smuggle drugs with an estimated street value of £68m.
Investigators from Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Republic of Ireland and Lithuania helped to prosecute Mulvey.
He had lived in a £1.4m villa in southern Spain, moving between multiple five-star hotels and laundering in excess of £7.8m through the Isle of Man, Monaco and Mauritius.
Mulvey was eventually arrested at gunpoint by Lithuanian special forces in March 2017.
Speaking on Wednesday, NCA Birmingham branch officer Adam Warnock said: "Mulvey did his best to live as a ghost, having no footprints of a home address, assets or bank accounts."
In a phone call played in court, Mulvey said: "This is what my life was. I've tried to get away with it"