Two men from Manchester have been jailed for operating a £9 million cannabis smuggling ring that transported drugs to Northern Ireland hidden inside pallets of wooden flooring.
© Photographerlondon | Dreamstime
Yudong Ouyang, 32, and Gary Hon, 26, cultivated cannabis in Manchester between June 2019 and February 2020, concealing up to 50 kilos per shipment in hollowed-out pallets shipped by ferry. The National Crime Agency (NCA) uncovered encrypted messages, CCTV evidence, and fingerprints linking the men to the operation, which made up to 38 deliveries in nine months.
Hon was sentenced to three years and one month, while Ouyang received three years and six months at Manchester Crown Court. Barry Vinall, NCA operations manager, said the men "attempted to make their operations appear legitimate" but were exposed by investigators.
The gang targeted Northern Ireland to capitalise on higher street prices. Two associates, Luis Ieong and Ming Liang He, were arrested in Belfast in 2020 with nearly 11 kilos of cannabis and later sentenced to 13 months each.
The NCA stressed that dismantling such operations remains a priority, as organised cannabis production often exploits vulnerable people trafficked to work illegally in farms across the UK.
Source: www.wired-gov.net
