Seventh gang member jailed over £1bn frozen chicken box drug haul

Brandon Maan was the seventh drug gang member to be jailed

A seventh member of a gang which smuggled £1.59bn of cocaine in boxes of frozen chicken has been jailed.

Prosecutors described the 15-tonne haul in 2022 as the largest ever drugs operation in England and Wales.

At Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday, Brandon Maan, 24, of Churchbank Way in Dewsbury, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in the operation.

He earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. The other six conspirators were jailed in November.

The criminal network had imported high-purity cocaine from a Mexican cartel, repackaged it and sold it on to dealers around the UK, prosecutors said.

The drugs were hidden in pallets of frozen chicken and later distributed around the UK, police said

A trial previously heard that "vast" shipments of the drugs were unpacked at a warehouse in Redditch, near Birmingham, and later distributed.

A total of 318 pallets of chicken were imported between March and December 2022, West Yorkshire Police said.

A legitimate Dutch haulage company was used to deliver the drugs from overseas, unaware of what was hidden within the consignments, the force added.

The other conspirators involved in the operation, who were all jailed last month, were:

• Stephen Rayner, 31, of Scargill Grange, Leeds, who was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and jailed for 20 years

• Cherie-Anne Rayner, 30, of Flaxton Street, Leeds, who was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and sentenced to 15 years

• Liam Harrington, 39, of Flaxton Street, Leeds, who was convicted of participating in the activities of an organised crime group and converting criminal property and sentenced to three years in prison

• Megan Budden, 23, of The Crescent, Dewsbury, who was convicted of participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group and jailed for two years

• Steven Gibson, 41, of Belsyde Avenue, Glasgow, who was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and sentenced to 12 years in prison

• Darren Hunter, 30, of Queenslie Street, Glasgow, who was convicted of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A and jailed for six years