Three men who planned to use a removal firm as the front for their drug smuggling were caught out by a covert police operation.
National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators rumbled the trio after listening in to their conversations in a cafe, where they overhead the men talk about how they were "gonna hit the jackpot".
Mark Youell, Alfred Rumbold and removal driver Brian Wright conspired to import around 55 kilos of Class A drugs, worth an estimated £4.5 million, during the middle of last year.
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The three men set up meetings with a Merseyside-based organised crime group who wanted to use Wright’s legitimate removals company as a front for the operation, The NCA said.
In July 2020, during a 'dummy run' to the Netherlands, Wright, 73, was found to have made a series of notes on his phone around border checks and security.
The following day, at a clandestine meeting in a Kent cafe, the men were picked up by the NCA's covert listening devices discussing the plans.
Youell was heard telling the other two men they were "gonna hit the jackpot” and that they were going to make “f***ing mega dough”.
The following week, Wright made the run for real, collecting the drugs, which had been sealed inside fish tanks.
However, as part of a joint operation involving the NCA and Dutch law enforcement, the truck was raided just outside Utrecht.
Wright, who was sleeping inside, was arrested, while Youell, 64, and Rumbold, 65, were arrested at their home addresses back in the UK.
Dutch police recovered 20.5 kilos of heroin, 32 kilos of cocaine and three kilos of MDMA from Wright's lorry.
NCA experts say the haul would have had a UK street value of around £4.5 million.
Encrochat messages attributed to Rumbold showed that he was discussing with numerous criminals the potential to move drugs across Europe using Wright’s firm.
Both Youell and Rumbold denied drug importation charges, claiming they had only been seeking to smuggle alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco and cannabis.
Wright, following his extradition from the Netherlands, denied any knowledge of the drugs, claiming he was just transporting furniture.
On Friday, November 19, following a seven-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court, all three men were found guilty of conspiring to import class A drugs.
They will be sentenced on November 26.
NCA Regional Head of Investigations Peter Stevens said: “This conspiracy involved a significant amount of drugs which were destined for the streets of the UK, where they would have been distributed by criminal gangs involved in violence and exploitation.
“Through the NCA’s covert investigation into their activities we were able to prove the crime group stood to make huge profits for themselves.
“This investigation also shows the benefit of international co-operation when it comes to stopping drug supply, which is a priority for the NCA. I’m grateful for the support of our Dutch partners in securing these convictions.”
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