Phillip Grange, Simon Finlay,Peter Hannigan, Darren Morris, and Mark Neville,arrested following an investigation by Cumbria police

Five men are to appear at Carlisle Crown Court next month accused of being involved in a conspiracy to import £14 million-worth of cocaine into Britain.The men were arrested following an investigation by Cumbria police in which nearly 300lb of cocaine was discovered in two lorries intercepted at the port of Harwich in Essex.<br />Those charged are: Phillip Grange, 54, of Park Valley, The Park, Nottingham; Simon Finlay, 32, of Park Lane, Wesham, Preston; Peter Hannigan, 49, of Kendal; and Darren Morris, 32, and Mark Neville, 41, both of Preston.They are all charged with conspiring to import illegal drugs.None of them was at a crown court for a hearing to set a timetable for future hearings.

Phillip Grange, Simon Finlay,Peter Hannigan, Darren Morris, and Mark Neville,arrested following an investigation by Cumbria police

Five men are to appear at Carlisle Crown Court next month accused of being involved in a conspiracy to import £14 million-worth of cocaine i...

Read more »

Stanley Chimezie ,Francis Obasi convicted of hiding cocaine in paintings and smuggling them into Cumbria.

Stanley Chimezie and Francis Obasi were caught trying to bring in half a kilo of the Class A drug – with a street value of £39,000 – from South America.<br />They were sentenced to a total of 12 years behind bars at Carlisle Crown Court and their conviction has sparked a stark warning from police to those involved in peddling lethal drugs.Detective Chief Inspector Paul Duhig said: “This marks the culmination of a thorough investigation by Cumbria police which illustrates that serious and organised crime will not be tolerated.“Those responsible will be actively targeted and brought to justice.”Security guard Chimezie, 23, of Hawes Street, Carlisle, was jailed for five years and three months on Thursday while Obasi, 29, of Abbeywood in London, was sentenced to six years and nine month. Both pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine.They were apprehended during Operation Alston and arrested in July 2007 after police intercepted the paintings being delivered to a house in Chatsworth Square, Carlisle.Judge Peter Hughes QC was told that Chimezie was offered £500 to receive the parcel.The cocaine – of between 68 and 79 per cent purity – was concealed in the back of three paintings sent by express mail with Parcel Force.The parcel, which came from Guyana, was intercepted at customs. It was delivered by a policeman on July 17 last year, addressed to a fictitious name at a flat in Chatsworth Square.

Stanley Chimezie ,Francis Obasi convicted of hiding cocaine in paintings and smuggling them into Cumbria.

Stanley Chimezie and Francis Obasi were caught trying to bring in half a kilo of the Class A drug – with a street value of £39,000 – from So...

Read more »