Lancashire gang who smuggled drugs in meat lorries jailed

Lancashire Police say the men were motivated only by greed

A gang who smuggled millions of pounds of cannabis from Spain to east Lancashire hidden in crates of frozen meat have been jailed.

The gang were discovered after police noticed a stench and heard voices coming from a unit in Oswaldtwistle.

They found 200kg of "skunk" cannabis and 200kg of cannabis resin in boxes along with a large bin of rotting meat.

Three men who admitted drug dealing at Preston Crown Court were jailed for up to four years.

A fourth man, who also pleaded guilty, will be sentenced early next year.

Lancashire Police said officers noticed the stink coming from the unit belonging to A2Z Meats Ltd on Commercial Street, where they found drugs worth £3.25m in a unit rented by the defendants.

Badrul Alam, 36, of Higher Reedley Road, Nelson; Ismail Ahmed, 36, of Granville Street, Burnley; Yamin Patel, 34, of Revidge Road, Blackburn; and Gary McCann, 59, of Marles Court, Burnley, admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis resin and conspiracy to supply herbal cannabis on 24 November.

DNA found

The men were linked to the conspiracy by vehicles registered in their names outside the unit, DNA on drinks bottles in the unit and found inside rubber washing up gloves used to clean the cannabis packages, as well as mobile phone data.

CCTV footage showed a lorry registered to a Spanish haulage company in Spain delivered a number of crates to the unit in August.

Police said documents showed eight deliveries by the firm between March and August 2020, when it unit was rented by the gang.

Judge Guy Mathieson sentenced Patel to four years, Ahmed for three years and nine months and Alam to three years and six months.

McCann will be sentenced on 10 January 2022.

A fifth man charged as part of the conspiracy was acquitted.

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