Known as 'The Big Fella', Paul Green was the ringleader of an international crime gang
As he was bundled into a police van outside his Cheshire home, Paul Green knew the game was up. Known as 'The Big Fella', Green was the ringleader of an international crime gang responsible for the biggest drug smuggling operation the UK has ever seen.
Police seized 450 kilos of heroin and cocaine and more than two tonnes of cannabis in lorries containing fruit and vegetables, with a total street value of £39.5m. Prosecutors said the seizures were just the tip of an 'extremely large iceberg'. The shipments were made using 'bogus' companies with names including Pot Fresh, Blackpool Fruit and Veg, Europroduce. Innocent haulage companies would then unwittingly transport the narcotics following contact with the ‘bogus’ firms.
When Green was arrested, officers recovered almost £10,000 in cash from his home. His bank statements showed he and his wife spent more than £26,000 on watches and jewellery in the previous six months. Paul Green, 59, of Widnes, Cheshire was sentenced to 32 years in prison after being found guilty of three counts of conspiring to import class A drugs, and four counts of conspiring to import class B drugs.
Russell Leonard, 47, of Grosmont Road, Kirkby, Merseyside, was found guilty of two counts of conspiring to import class A drugs and one count of conspiring to import class B drugs. He was sentenced to 24 years.
Bolton Cheshire Stockport Manchester Crown Court
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