Men jailed for using Christian group to smuggle drugs

Dalton Anderson and Alvin Russell have been jailed

Two men have been jailed for their role in using a Christian organisation as cover to import 400kg (881lbs) of cannabis into the UK from Jamaica.

Via Birmingham Airport, they had three loads of the drug sent over in tins of fruit and vegetables, a court heard.

All three batches despatched in 2017 were addressed to the same religious group in the city.

Dalton Anderson, 51, and Alvin Russell, 46, have been sentenced to nine and five years in prison respectively.

A third man, Sinclair Tucker, 65, was handed a two-year sentence suspended for 18 months.

Ahead of sentencing at Derby Crown Court on Monday, all three were found guilty last year of fraudulently evading the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug, with Anderson also found guilty of possession with intent to supply cannabis after five kilos were found at his home.

The drug was smuggled in tins of callaloo, a green leafy vegetable, and ackee fruit

The men used the address of Birmingham-based Vision Christian Ministries (VCM) on the shipments, with the consignments having a street value of about £2m, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

Anderson and Tucker, both of Groveland Road, Tipton, Dudley, and Russell, of Wood Lane, West Bromwich, were arrested at the airport on 23 May 2017 while inspecting the third consignment which had just arrived.

Sinclair Tucker has been sentenced to two years in jail suspended for 18 months

"This crime group cynically used a religious organisation to conceal their multi million-pound drugs conspiracy," said NCA operations manager Rick Mackenzie.

Paul Harper, from Border Force Central Region, added: "This seizure and others demonstrates the despicable lengths criminals will go to, exploiting a religion to line their own pockets, which will only cause harm to our communities."

If sold in the UK, the haul would have a street value of £2m, the NCA said