Briton Sentenced To Prison In Billion Baht Marijuana Smuggling Operation From Thailand

[sriracha john]

Fake Coventry firm hid drugs operation

A DAD from Coventry used a fake business on the outskirts of the city as a front for an international cannabis smuggling operation.

Yesterday Christopher Woodings, aged 27, was jailed for ten years for his role in a scam which brought up to £19 million [1,070,844,867 Thai Baht] of cannabis into the UK during 18 months.

Woodings, of Somerset Road, Radford, was arrested following an undercover police sting.

The court heard he used a fake antiques business in Binley Woods, to act as a front for smuggling tonnes of illegal drugs into the country.

Woodings, who also duped his ­fiancée and their three-year-old child, that his money was made legitimately by the antiques business, formed the UK arm of a plot, which brought cannabis into the UK from Thailand.

It involved hiding packages of cannabis inside the false bottoms of metal water filters which were loaded on to crates and flown from Thailand into Heathrow Airport.

When first interviewed by police, Woodings maintained he was selling the filters on for scrap and was unaware of the drugs.

But during a third police interview – five months later – he admitted the crates had been delivered to his business unit based at OIA Adventure Warehouse in Binley Woods. From there the crates were taken to a garage in London Road, Whitley, where they were taken apart and the drugs recovered from inside.

Prosecuting, Louise Pierpoint told the court some 40 courier invoices had been recovered from Woodings’ home, detailing “regular” deliveries of ‘in-line filter systems’ to his business between June 27, 2007 and June 20, 2008.

Woodings later admitted the scam had been operating for longer but could not remember the exact number of deliveries he had received.

Ms Pierpoint said that if the deliveries continued at the same frequency throughout the 18 months, almost six tonnes of cannabis could have been imported with a street value of up to £19 million.

The plot was foiled when two consignments were searched at Heathrow Airport on June 17 last year.

After customs officials rumbled the smuggled drugs, the deliveries were allowed to continue on their route and were tracked to Woodings’ business and then to his ­garage in London Road. While the drugs were being unloaded police officers swooped and Woodings was arrested.

He initially denied knowledge of the operation but months later requested an interview with police, where he made a full admission of his involvement and revealed he had been paid £72,000 for his role.

Woodings, who at the time of his arrest had an “increasing cocaine addiction” was charged with four counts of acquiring possession of ­illegal drugs, three counts of supplying controlled drugs and one count of possession with intent to supply, relating to a stash of cannabis found in his kitchen. He admitted all charges.

Kate Iliffe, defending, said: “He was the man who got his hands dirty. I am not going to stand here on his behalf and make excuses for him and suggest he was roped into this or did not know what he was doing.

“He plainly did. He was approached and the suggestion was put to him. He went into this with his eyes open.

“He is the man the paper trail led to – both with the invoices in his house and other documents.

“It was always him who was going to be found. It was him effectively taking the risk and taking the responsibilty of these deliveries at this end.

“He was being paid a wage for what he was doing. He was effectively the foot soldier in this.”

- Coventry Telegraph / 2009-08-15

[sriracha john]

Antiques dealer who sold £20 million of cannabis jailed

An antiques dealer who used his shop as a front to sell more than £20million worth of cannabis has been jailed for ten years.

Christopher Woodings, 27, used the warehouse for his business AIO Antiques to receive and process six tonnes of the drug.

Customs and Revenue officers were led to his business when they intercepted crates at Heathrow Airport that contained 'fresh flowering' skunk from Thailand.

Woodings, a father-of-one, admitted importing and supplying cannabis and was given two ten year jail terms to run concurrently at Warwick Crown Court.

The court heard how Woodings started the business in Coventry in January 2007 after losing his job and wanted extra money to support his three year-old daughter.

He imported 80 kilos of cannabis a week - worth up to £500,000 - hidden inside air filters from Thailand. Woodings then passed on the drugs to other dealers around the West Midlands who sold it on for profit.

Police raided his three-bedroom home and found 40 invoices for the shipments from Thailand.

It is estimated that the total street value of those shipments - six tonnes of cannabis - would have been around £20 million.

But Judge Christopher Hodson said the actual amount that was not traced could have been ''much higher''.

Louise Pierrepoint, prosecuting, said: ''The defendant set up the antiques business which was seemingly legitimate to the outside world.

''But that business was merely a front for importing massive amounts of cannabis that were sold on. The drugs came in crates with false bottoms which were then unpacked inside the shop with two other employees.

''There were a large number of invoices found at his home which suggest there would have been around £20 million, or six tonnes of drugs, that he handled.''

Judge Hodson sentenced Woodings to ten years for importing cannabis and ten years for supply to run consecutively.

He said: ''This was an example of importing cannabis on a massive scale. The defendant admits that he was sometimes recieveing several shipments a week which would make the actual total much higher.

''Somebody was making a lot of money from this operation but those higher up have never been arrested.''

Kate Illiffe, defending, said: ''Mr Woodings was doing the dirty work for somebody else and he tried to get out of it but they wouldn't let him. He had admitted that what he did was wrong and accepted responsibility for his actions.''

- Telegraph (UK) / 2009-08-14

[ukrules]

Small world, I live in Coventry and know a couple of people who lived in Somerset Road, it's a bit of a dump of a place, quite small houses.

[LaoPo]

.....Importing air filters from Thailand....by air....for your antiques business ?

Hmmm

LaoPo

[joskydive]

So, when are they going to go after the Big Boy's then, or, is this it? Case Closed, we got our man!!!

[daoyai]

I didn't realize that LOS still produced a smoke worthy of export.

[anothertorres]

I didn't realize that LOS still produced a smoke worthy of export.

dude, that's what i'm saying! where is this kind?