£20 million amphetamine haul at garden centre

22 October 2009

An international plot to smuggle amphetamines and cannabis worth nearly £20 million into the UK by hiding the drugs inside conifer trees ended in a 5 year prison sentence for a Kent man.

Stephen Waite was arrested in June 2009 by SOCA officers who were lying in wait at a Bolton garden centre when the drugs were delivered. The plot came to light only hours earlier as a result of intelligence from a joint operation between SOCA, the Belgian Federal Police and the Dutch National Crime Squad.

Officers watched as the drugs, hidden in four pallets of conifers, were unloaded from an HGV and into Waite’s van. As he tried to leave, they moved in and arrested him.

The conifers were found to contain 200 kilos of amphetamine and 20 kilos of cannabis resin. Expert examination of the amphetamine revealed its purity to be very high, at around 49%. The drug is generally sold at street level at a purity of 1%, and for £10 a gram.

SOCA’s Deputy Director Andy Sellers said:

“This was a high purity import and would have been cut substantially before it reached street level. We are commonly seeing amphetamines with a street level purity of only 1% at the moment, so users are parting with a lot of cash and getting mostly caffeine and glucose for their money. Drug dealing is not a public service, it is a money-making business with no respect for its customers.”