Five deny role in £62m cannabis smuggling ring operating in Kingston, Sutton, Ashtead and Epsom (From Surrey Comet)

Five deny role in £62m cannabis smuggling ring operating in Kingston, Sutton, Ashtead and Epsom

4:54pm Friday 15th January 2010 in

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Five people have denied being involved in a £62m cannabis ring which stored drugs and money in lock-ups and homes in Kingston, Sutton, Ashtead and Epsom.

Asim Bashir, an east London currency exchange owner, was found guilty by a jury before Christmas of money laundering for the gang, and several others have already pleaded guilty of importing cannabis from Holland.

Prosecutors at Southwark Crown Court claimed the defendants were lower-level members of the conspiracy, which they deny.

James Hay, 30, of Stonny Croft, Ashtead, is accused of collecting 20kg of cannabis from convicted dealer Timothy Sullivan.

Lindsay Graham, 42, of Bushey Road, Sutton, was a major drug distributor in Mitcham linking up with the leaders of the conspiracy and supplied drugs worth millions of pounds, the prosecution alleged.

Police saw drugs being delivered to his garages and found documents linking him to the sale of vehicles used by the gang, the court heard.

Mandy Cripps, 34, was the girlfriend of conspiracy member Robert Alexander, who has admitted dealing drugs from High Wycombe. Prosecutors claim she kept accounts showing hundreds of thousands of kilograms of drugs supplied.

Two other men from High Wycombe and north London are also on trial.

The jury has heard police surveillance evidence which saw dealers linked to the five, making and organising handovers in Moore Place, Esher, Cafe Rouge, Esher, the Queen’s Head, Epsom, and Hamilton Avenue, Tolworth.

The trial continues.

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