A group of men has been sentenced to a total of 26 years in prison for smuggling nearly £4.5 million worth of cannabis from Ghana disguised as Gari powder into south Essex.
Border force officers found the drug haul in a shipping container at Tilbury Docks after a sting operation by the National Crime Agency.
On October 18, 2024, all four men were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.
Daniel Yeboah received a five-year jail sentence, while Edward Adjei, a resident of London Road, Grays, was sentenced to four years in prison.
Kristoffen Baidoo, 48, did not show up at the trial last month, and Kwaku Bonsu, 52, left the jurisdiction before sentencing.
Both men were convicted in absentia, with Baidoo receiving a 10-year sentence and Bonsu receiving a seven-year sentence.
Efforts are currently being made to find the duo and bring them back into custody so they can fulfill their sentences.
The senior investigating officer from the NCA, Saju Sasikumar, stated that the individuals utilized their connections abroad to bring a significant quantity of cannabis into the nation.
Its continued distribution within the UK could have devastating consequences on our communities, leading to increased violence and exploitation due to the county lines drug trade.
The outcome of today’s action shows the NCA’s dedication to focusing on organized criminals who are involved in the upper levels of the drug supply chain and making sure they face legal consequences.
The container made its way to the South Essex docks from Ghana on December 19, 2019, and was then detained there before being transported to London.
Information gathered by the National Crime Agency and the Ghanaian Narcotics Control Commission indicated that drugs were present in the suspected item.
The bags of Gari powder inside the container were seized by the National Crime Agency.
After a search was conducted, it was discovered that there were 2,335 packages of herbal cannabis totaling 1.5 tonnes concealed within white hessian sacks of Gari powder.
The drugs were estimated by officers to have a street value of approximately £4.3 million. Realizing the drugs were gone, they quickly left the scene in separate cars, abandoning the load as soon as the container was opened.
The drugs were confiscated from the sacks and switched with decoy packages before being transported to north London on January 13, 2020. Yeboah, who lived on Homerton High Street, signed the delivery note with a forged signature.
Realising the drugs were missing once opening the container, the men left the area and were later arrested by officers. Yeboah and Adjei, of London Road, Grays, were apprehended in Homerton, while Baidoo was arrested in Stratford and Bonsu, of Arthur Road, Edmonton, was arrested in Edmonton.
On Baidoo’s mobile phone, text messages and emails were discovered revealing his plan to receive the drugs at the rented yard using a false name to conceal his identity.
Evidence showed that payments were made from Bonsu’s bank account to a shipping company for the container to be transported from Tilbury Docks to the yard in north London.
NCA officers found the shipping container and Gari sacks filled with cannabis.
