A UK court has convicted four individuals for their role in a large-scale cannabis smuggling operation, which involved concealing £4.5 million worth of the drug within shipments of Gari powder from Ghana to south Essex.
Four men, Daniel Yeboah, Kristoffen Baidoo, Kwaku Bonsu, and Edward Adjei, have been convicted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court after a three-week trial, for their involvement in a major cannabis smuggling operation.
The drugs were discovered by Border Force officers at Tilbury Docks, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.
The four men, aged between 48 and 54, are from London and Grays, and will face sentencing for their roles in the £4.5 million cannabis smuggling operation.
In December 2019, a shipping container from Ghana was flagged for suspicion of carrying drugs and held at Tilbury Docks in south Essex.
Following a tip from the National Crime Agency and Ghanaian Narcotics Control Commission, a search of the container revealed 2,335 packages of herbal cannabis, weighing 1.5 tonnes, concealed within sacks of Gari powder.
The estimated street value of the seized cannabis is approximately £4.3 million.
In a sting operation, the seized drugs were replaced with dummy packages, and the container was tracked by officers as it was transported from Tilbury Docks to an industrial yard in north London on January 13, 2020.
Upon arrival, Daniel Yeboah signed for the delivery using a fake signature, while Kwaku Bonsu was seen surveilling the area, taking photos of the container with his phone.
Meanwhile, Edward Adjei was observed dropping off Kristoffen Baidoo at the yard, where a worker used an angle grinder to remove the container seal, unaware of the ongoing law enforcement operation.
The suspects fled the scene in separate vehicles, abandoning the container, after discovering the drugs were missing. Unbeknownst to them, law enforcement officers were hot on their heels, leading to their arrests later that day.
Daniel Yeboah and Edward Adjei were apprehended in Homerton, Kristoffen Baidoo in Stratford, and Kwaku Bonsu in Edmonton, bringing their illicit operation to a swift end.
“Today’s result is testament to the joint international work between the NCA and the Ghanaian Narcotics Control Commission to intercept the drugs shipment, and the tireless efforts of our officers to identify the criminal group behind its importation.
“Had this huge haul of cannabis reached the UK supply chain, it would have fuelled exploitation through county lines activity as well serious violence and knife crime.
“Putting these harmful criminal groups before the courts and dismantling their illegal operations is a key part of the NCA’s mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime,” National Crime Agency senior investigating officer Saju Sasikumar said.
During a search of Kristoffen Baidoo’s residence, investigators discovered a 10-tonne hydraulic press, commonly used for compacting drugs, and seized various devices from the suspects, including mobile phones and dash cams from their vehicles.
Analysis of the dash cam footage from Edward Adjei’s Toyota revealed phone calls made to Baidoo and Daniel Yeboah shortly after the container arrived at the industrial yard, further implicating the suspects in the drug smuggling operation.
During a call with Yeboah, he said, “my brother, be a little watchful. It is all a little dodgy”.
Yeboah was also picked up on later calls telling Adjei, “I don’t think the food [drugs] is in it” and “there was Gari inside, they have removed most of the Gari. The people are thieves”.
Further investigation of Kristoffen Baidoo’s mobile phone revealed incriminating text messages and emails detailing his plan to receive the drugs at the industrial yard, which he had rented using a pseudonym to conceal his identity.
Additionally, financial records showed that Kwaku Bonsu’s bank account made several payments to a shipping company to transport the container from Tilbury Docks to the north London yard.
The evidence gathered will be used against the four men, who are scheduled to be sentenced on October 18.
