Dutchman jailed over £70m drugs hidden in boxes of flowers

Edwin Van Winsen, 33, was part of a gang who arranged deliveries to four addresses in West Yorkshire before they switched to sites in the West Midlands after police in the Netherlands disrupted operations by seizing three loads intended for Leeds or Bradford.

It was then estimated a similar amount of cannabis worth another £70m was delivered to the Birmingham and Redditch areas before the ring was smashed.

Van Winsen of Sassenheim, Holland, was jailed for four years at Leeds Crown Court after he admitted smuggling cannabis and possession with intent to supply.

Andrew Kershaw, prosecuting, said there were 52 deliveries of flowers to West Yorkshire between June 12 and October 10 2008 to addresses in Hunslet, Morley and Stanningley, in Leeds and to Bowling Back Lane in Bradford.

Van Winsen used legitimate haulage companies to co-ordinate some of the deliveries made to the Leeds area. The palettes containing the drugs were marked LE1 or LE2 to distinguish them from genuine boxes of flowers.

He also arranged to rent the storage unit in Morley where he was seen on occasions when deliveries arrived.

Damien Nolan for Van Winsen said he had expressed remorse for his actions. He had become involved under pressure after his own business went into liquidation and he was left in a perilous financial situation.

Van Winsen is the fourth man to be sentenced for his part in the plot.

After the case Detective Chief Inspector Simon Beldon said his sentence marked the end of a long and complex investigation resulting in the disruption of an international gang.

“A staggering amount of cannabis was brought into the UK as a result of this criminal enterprise.”