A dramatic video shows the moment police carried out a raid on a drugs gang that used a frozen meat firm as a front to smuggle cannabis worth £3.25m into the UK.
On officer bodycams, the clip shows investigators opening a door, arresting one suspect, and then releasing three others during a raid of a house.
Badrul Alam 35 from Nelson Lancashire; Ismail Ahmed 36 from Burnley; Yamin Patel 34 from Blackburn all were sentenced for conspiring to supply cannabis resin.
A fourth man, Gary McCann, 59, of Burnley, also pleaded guilty to the charges and will be sentenced on January 10 next year.
After a chance encounter, Lancashire Police found the drugs.
A second officer, working on a different inquiry, was brought to Oswaldtwistle’s A2Z Meats warehouse when the meat started to smell bad and made a “death odor”.
After repeatedly banging on the doors, the PC called the number listed on the property’s front. When he couldn’t gain entry to the building’s door, he dialled back up and was directed to a support team who found what was called a sophisticated cannabis setup. It was fronted at the factory’s meat packing plant.
Within the frame of the unit was a workstation, with a pallet wall at the center.
A stack of containers containing mostly frozen cow’s meat was found on one side. These boxes were being unpacked before they were thrown in bins.
According to police, the packets of heat-sealed skunk and cannabis resin were hidden beneath the meat.
Another section was used for cleaning purposes.
According to police, the drugs packets were removed from the boxes and mixed with meat before being cleaned up and repackaged.
Lancashire Police posted a video of officers running to the property’s front door and breaking it down.
Shortly after the officers break into their vehicle, one man is arrested and removed from the house.
Preston Crown Court heard 220kg of skunk cannabis and 208kg of cannabis resin with a street value of £3.25million was found inside four boxes.
The area was filmed with CCTV and showed that a Spanish haulage company registered to HGV arrived at the site the next morning. A number of crates had been delivered.
The CCTV also captured Gary McCann, the defendant in the case, moving bins around outside the unit. He was preparing to take out the cannabis contained within the boxes of meat.
According to Lancashire police, further investigation of the documentation revealed that there were eight other similar delivery from Spain between March 2020 and Aug 2020.
The unit was being rented to all three of them and they used it to cover the delivery and supply of large amounts cannabis.
The day of the drug discovery, Alam found outside a Vauxhall Vivaro and another Patel-owned vehicle. The gang left both vehicles at the site as they fled from the warehouse just minutes before the raid.
An office was found with DNA that belonged to Alam and Patel.
Additional DNA from Ahmed was also found in pink Marigold gloves, which were used for cleaning the cannabis packages.
The A2Z Meat Factory warehouse had been used as a front by the gang for drug deals, according to police
An officer, who attended the frozen meat factory by chance, found what was described as a ‘sophisticated cannabis set up’
Preston Crown Court heard 220kg of skunk cannabis and 208kg of cannabis resin with a street value of £3.25million was found inside four boxes
In sentencing the three defendants, Judge Guy Mathieson said: ‘This was a huge criminal business operation to bring and distribute huge amounts of cannabis into the country’
Data recovered from mobile phones linked all three to the conspiracy.
After a thorough investigation, officers located those suspected of being involved, and executed warrants at Burnley, Blackburn, and Nelson.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) consulted with the defendants and they were charged with conspiracy supply of cannabis resin, conspiracy supply of herbal cannabis.
Friday’s sentence was that Patel would be in jail for 4 years; Ahmed 3 years and 9 months, and Alam 3 and 1/2 years.
Guy Mathieson, the judge sentencing Guy Mathieson to prison said that it was an enormous criminal operation to import and distribute large amounts of marijuana into the country.
“It would undoubtedly generate enormous amounts of profit for the people who would get those profits.
“All three of your contributions were vital to the success of that venture.
“You participated as participants willing to learn, and as participants who are already aware of the work. You were chosen because you could see it all.
You were not forced to, coerced, or persuaded in any way.
You knew what you were doing and what risks you took, so you felt that taking the risk was worthwhile.
Detective Chief Inspector Tim Brown from Lancashire Police said after the investigation that the conspirators had all taken part in a complex drug operation. Large quantities of marijuana were exported to the UK and repackaged before being sold.
The only motivator for these men was greed.
“While cannabis is not a Class A drug, it can be used to finance serious crime and violence.
“It leads to misery within communities and vulnerable people being taken advantage.
“This was a complex investigation that took many hours and required a lot more effort, time and perseverance to get these convictions.
“I’m happy that this organized criminal gang was disbanded, and its members have been sentenced. Thank you to our CPS colleagues.
“Lancashire Police will not accept illegal drugs of any type and will utilize all our powers to search for, arrest and prosecute offenders.”
A fifth man charged as part of the conspiracy was acquitted.