A CRIMINAL gang who used a Christian organisation to import 400 kilos of cannabis into the UK through Birmingham have been found guilty.
Dalton Anderson, 50, Alvin Russell, 45, and Sinclair Tucker, 64, shipped three loads of drugs packed into sealed tins of Calaloo, a Jamaican green vegetable, and Akee fruit.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) say the drugs were addressed to Vision Christian Ministries when they arrived at the airport from Jamaica.
The packages arrived between March and May 2017 and seized by Border Force.
The trio were arrested at the airport in May of that year, while inspecting the third consignment which had just arrived.
NCA investigators established that they organised the imports and collected the drugs from the airport.
The agency says Anderson, of Groveland Road, Tipton, and Russell, of Wood Lane, West Bromwich, also spent some time in Jamaica when the importations were made, handling money and providing shipping documentation to VCM via Tucker, of Groveland Road, Tipton.
All three were charged with conspiracy to import class B drugs (cannabis), with Anderson also charged with possession with intent to supply class B drugs after five kilos of cannabis was found at his home following his arrest.
Anderson was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court on November 29, with the other two found guilty on November 30, following a five-week trial.
They are due to be sentenced in January.
NCA operations manager Rick Mackenzie said: “Anderson, Tucker and Russell cynically used a Christian ministry as a smokescreen to import huge quantities of cannabis into the UK.
“They wrongly believed that this would put them beyond the reach of the NCA and our law enforcement partners.
“The NCA works closely with Border Force to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks involved in drug trafficking.”
Assistant director inland border command for Border Force, Paul Harper, said: “This was outstanding work to stop £2million worth of drugs reaching Britain’s streets and causing further harm to our communities.
“This seizure and others like it send a clear message to anyone considering attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country that we remain committed and prepared to tackle drug supply chains.”
