Yankee Candles cannabis smuggler trial finds two guilty

BBC News

2 days ago

Two men have been found guilty of being part of an organised crime group, and smuggling more than 300kg of cannabis labelled as "Yankee Candles" from the US to south Wales using the postal service.Sean Montgomery, 24, and Steven Munroe, 44, from Cardiff, were charged with conspiracy to import and supply class B drugs.Mohammed Nurul Hussain, 28, and Abdu Huriara Husain, 28, from Cardiff changed their plea earlier in their trial, admitting importing the drugs, having already admitted to supplying them.The four will be sentenced on 10 and 11 September along with seven others who pleaded guilty to their part earlier this year.
Jurors were told the drugs seized had a street value of to £11m with prosecutor Roger Griffiths saying it was "drug dealing on an industrial scale".The court was played videos of a "stash house" on Ninian Park Road, Cardiff, where the drugs were stored.The videos were recovered from the phone of Abubakr Khawar - who admitted charges against him in March - after his arrest.Jurors were told he was the head of the organised crime group.The cannabis was in bright blue "multi-coloured" packages with labels such as, "Zour Candies", and "Cali weed", which jurors were told reflected the strain of cannabis.Det Con Sean Meyrick said they were "typical designer bags that cannabis is generally placed inside".The cannabis arrived through British airports, including Birmingham, Heathrow and Stansted.Jurors at Newport Crown Court were told packages were mainly posted from California and New Jersey, but also Colorado and Ohio.
The court was read messages between Abubakr Khawar, from Cardiff, and the cannabis supplier in the US, known only as "Adam Z".Det Con Meyrick described them as the "two main players in the organised crime group".Jurors heard the conversation revealed their concern at parcels containing cannabis destined for Hood Road in Barry, vale of Glamorgan, being intercepted at a Royal Mail depot in the town. The court heard some of the cannabis packages found in the depot were labelled as "Yankee Candles".Adam Z sent a message saying: "We about to lose everything that's going to Hood."£60k minimum, I can't afford those Ls."Jurors were told this was a reference to a £60,000 loss for the organised crime group.He said: "Bro we just can't sit here and lose parcels for fun man, it's turning into a joke."Those Hood ones need to be sorted even if you've got to give the guy at the front desk 5k," which jurors were told was a reference to the organised crime group suggesting paying £5,000 to a Royal Mail employee to get the packages back.
Montgomery was accused of trying to collect three parcels from the Barry sorting office on 26 October, but was refused collection because the "address did not exist".Jurors were told police were called because "similar packages had arrived from the US" that were believed to be "suspicious".The court was told police officer Patrick Levy went to the Royal Mail depot in Barry to view the suspicious packages.He said there were 14 packages "with Yankee Candles inside", but was told "they were too light to be candles" and the addresses did not match the postcodes.Jurors were told Munroe agreed to five cannabis packages being delivered to his home address in Splott, Cardiff, but they were intercepted by the UK border force.Munroe said he agreed with his neighbour, Sophie Jones, to allow one parcel to be delivered to his home, but said he "didn't have a clue" what was inside the parcel.Munroe said he only became suspicious after Ms Jones paid him £50 after taking delivery of the parcel.He said he had also become suspicious of his neighbour because her lifestyle had changed, and she was "buying more things than usual".The court heard he sent a text message to her saying "you are getting money for taking in dodgy parcels".She replied: "I haven't taken in any more parcels than you."The court heard in another text message he had threatened to "grass her up" and she said she would "let the boys know".Munroe said he felt scared by the threat.
The prosecution claimed he "knew about the bigger operation and parcels coming in from America".Jurors were told Hussain was arrested at his home in Ninian Park Road, Cardiff where police found a packet of cannabis, money, a phone, and empty cannabis packages in a car, which had previously been identified by a postal worker.A list totalling 343 parcels was read to the court, they contained between 100g and 2.5kg of cannabis and were destined for 80 different addresses across south Wales.However, the parcels were intercepted by UK border force agents.The court heard the 329kg of drugs seized had a street value of between £7m - £11m.
Abubakr Khawar, 28, of Despenser Street, Riverside, Cardiff, pleaded guilty on 19 MarchDaniel Marshall, 40, of Perrott Street, Treharris, Merthyr Tydfil, pleaded guilty on 4 AprilAndrew Pethers, 36, of Drawlings Close, St Melons, Cardiff, pleaded guilty on 13 MaySophie Jones, 32, of Cwrt Sanqhuar, Splott, Cardiff, pleaded guilty on 23 MayKyle Solowyk, 29, of Elizabeth Avenue, Barry, pleaded guilty on 23 MayCeiron Jones, 28, of Pendwyallt Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff, pleaded guilty on 1 MaySolomon Bertram, 36, of Malvern Drive, Llanishen, Cardiff, pleaded guilty on 19 MarchThe above all pleaded guilty to conspiring to import a controlled drug of Class B with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction, conspiring to supply a class B controlled drug and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B.Mohammed Nurul Hussain, 28, of Ninian Park Road, Riverside, Cardiff, and Abdu Huriara Husain, 28, of Clos Parc Morgannwg, Leckwith, Cardiff pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class B controlled drugs on 19 March and 23 May. During a trial for conspiracy to import cannabis, both changed their pleas to guilty on 5 June Sean Montgomery, 24, of Uplands Road, Rumney, Cardiff, and Steven Munroe, 44, of Cwrt Sanqhuar, Riverside, Cardiff, pleaded not guilty to both offences and were found guilty of both offences on 11 June