Paralysed drug smuggler jailed for hiding £250m of cocaine and heroin
A paralysed drug smuggler who drove a specially adapted trailer to hide £250 million of cocaine and heroin on a Welsh farm has been jailed.
Guy Remington, 48, of Welsh Bicknor, Herefordshire, drove a modified car pulling a trailer, which could covertly store drugs.
Officers estimate Remington, who had a trailer business that he used as a cover, carried between two and three tonnes of class A drugs into the UK across nine trips.
He was arrested following his final trip and police seized 700kg of class A narcotics. On Thursday, he was jailed for seven years at Chester magistrates’ court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to import and supply heroin and cocaine at an earlier hearing.
Three others were jailed for their roles in a plot during which the drugs were smuggled into the country and stored in Flintshire, North Wales.
As part of the conspiracy, masterminded from Dubai, heroin and cocaine came from South America, through mainland Europe and were brought into the UK on a trailer, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) said.
Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Whitehead, head of NWROCU, said: “We believe the conspiracy was ultimately orchestrated by individuals abroad, including as far away as Dubai.”
He added: “We observed the activities of these individuals over a period of time, gathered evidence. We were able to secure the seizure of 700 kilos of class A drugs and we would estimate that over the period of nine similar journeys the group made during that time, they were responsible for bringing into the UK between two and three tonnes of class A drugs.
“Luke Hirst was the tenant for the farm premises and what that farm premises provided them was a cover that would allow them to move vehicles and drugs in and out of that location otherwise undetected.”
Hirst, 38, of Pinfold Lane, Alltami, was described by police as having a “leading role” in the organised crime group, sourcing and distributing cocaine on an industrial scale.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail after admitting conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
From Hirst’s farm, drugs were collected by couriers and taken across the country, detectives said.
Morgan Towner, 47, of Leatherhead, Surrey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for seven years for his role, working for a London-based organised crime group to collect drugs from the farm and take them back to Surrey.
Thomas Smith, 43, of Liverpool, was described as a leading member of the crime group and would make regular trips to Hirst’s farm, where he would collect huge quantities of drugs to take back to Merseyside for onward distribution.
He was jailed for 18 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin, possession with intent to supply a class A drug and possession of cannabis.
