Depot manager at Movers International, became suspicious about a request to ship furniture from Alicante to Preston

Depot manager at Movers International, based at Red Scar Industrial Estate, became suspicious about a request to ship furniture from Alicante to Preston.
And when Spanish police checked the furniture they discovered £250,000 worth of cannabis destined for the streets of Liverpool.
This week Peter Thomas, 47, of Upper Brassey Street, Birkenhead, who had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to supply 122 kilograms of the Class C drug, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Preston Crown Court.
Thomas' conviction follows a joint operation between Lancashire Constabulary's Serious and Organised Crime Unit and the Guardia Civil Police, based in the Alicante area of Spain, which began in June 2006 and was sparked by the depot manager's suspicions.Codenamed Operation Hazel, it targeted the importation of cannabis from Spain into the UK.Preston Crown Court prosecutor Robert Platts said in July 2006 the cannabis resin was seized by the Spanish authorities in Alicante after the manager at Movers International became "highly suspicious'' of a request to ship furniture from Spain to Preston.The cannabis would have been delivered with the furniture to Preston and was then to be delivered to an address in the Liverpool area.As a result of the investigation Thomas was arrested and later charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis.A spokesperson for the Serious and Organised Crime Unit said: "This is another excellent example of Lancashire Constabulary's Serious and Organised Crime Unit disrupting the importation of controlled drugs into the UK .
"We have developed partnerships with colleagues from enforcement agencies on the European mainland and this investigation illustrates how, by working together with the Spanish police, we were able to prevent the supply of the cannabis and disrupt a well developed network."We will continue to work with colleagues across Europe to protect the communities of Lancashire and the United Kingdom from drugs and other highly profitable organised crime."

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