A GANG spearheaded by a Dorset man built up a ‘advanced plan to import a huge quantity of cannabis’ into the UK – before being discovered by National Crime Agency.
He planned to sell each kilo for between £3,000 to £3,500 – yielding at least £3 million in income.
Bristol Crown Court heard how Kelly, Gavin Challis, 46, from Essex and Daniel Parrot and Jason Tongue, both aged 47 and from Nottinghamshire, conspired to collect the packages of Class B drugs from a moored yacht, land at the Cornish Coast to then be distributed across the country.
In order to discuss the drug trafficking plot, the four individuals used encrypted communication network EncroChat and used code names to disguise their identities.
Under the alias ‘Organic Shoe’, Kelly was to arrange a boat and crew to access the moored yacht and bring the drugs package back onto the UK coast using a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB).
Kelly asked Challis, also known as ‘Mushroom Waffle’ to purchase and supply the drugs and instructed Parrott, under the handle of ‘Bluff Pizza’ to buy fuel drums to for a boat.
The planned operation was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Officers on National Crime Agency’s Operation Venetic – the UK law enforcement response to the takedown of EncroChat – intercepted and investigated their messages.
Their investigation found that the group had discussed the quantity of drugs to be transported, as well as images of the RHIB and landing areas for the cannabis.
