Midlands men jailed in £450m cocaine smuggling operation

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 30 Oct, 15:18 · Archive

Seven men from the Midlands have been jailed for their role in smuggling 4.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in cheese wheels worth £450 million.

Seven members of a drugs network from the Midlands have been jailed after 4.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in wheels of cheese were smuggled into the country, worth more than £450 million. Blocks of cocaine were concealed in shrink-wrapped pallets of cheese and transported as commercial freight to Dover, then taken to a legitimate distribution hub in Derby. Refrigerated trucks collected the pallets and delivered them to industrial units in Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Halifax and Blackburn.

Jordan Miles, 32, of Whinchat Close, Coventry, and Brandon Eley, 31, of Tamworth, were convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine. The drugs were then removed and packaged in brown cardboard boxes and black bin liners before a network of couriers from the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Lancashire and the North East collected their supplies from the distribution hubs.

A total of 18 people have been convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine following two trials which began last year. The investigation began after cocaine and ecstasy worth £2 million was seized in Leeds in 2023, prompting West Yorkshire Police to uncover the sophisticated distribution network. The investigation team found that the organised crime group had imported 123,568kg of cheese into the UK between December 2022 and April 2023.

How it is being reported

• Midlands men part of drugs network which hid cocaine in wheels of cheeseThe sophisticated network smuggled 4.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in wheels of cheese into the country, worth £450 millionBirminghamLive · 30 Oct, 14:31
• Midlands men jailed for role in £450m cocaine smuggling gang which hid drugs in cheeseA total of 22 people have been convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine in connection with the operationExpress & Star · 30 Oct, 14:30

In this story: Jordan Miles · Brandon Eley · Coventry · Tamworth · West Midlands · West Yorkshire Police · Derby · Dover

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log