A man who smuggled cocaine worth ÂŁ120m into the UK, hidden in rolls of artificial grass, has been jailed for 17 years following a joint operation by the National Crime Agency and authorities in the Netherlands.
On 20 May 2024, Peter Lamb, 66, of Mayfair Gardens Gateshead, took receipt of a lorry-load of fake grass, inside which were specially-constructed hides which Lamb expected to contain cocaine.
The delivery was one of a number Lamb had received over a period of 11 months but, unknown to Lamb, this time his illicit cargo had been found and removed from the grass hides by Dutch customs officers days before.
Dutch authorities notified the NCA and when Lamb received the grass rolls at a warehouse in Stockton-on-Tees, NCA officers observed him using a forklift truck to move the turf into the warehouse.
0000
AVISEUR INTERNATIONAL 