Man jailed after drugs haul

Orthnell Fuller admitted conspiracy to supply drugs

A man involved in a plot to smuggle £6m of drugs into the UK has been jailed after a National Crime Squad operation.

Orthnell Fuller, 66, of Greenbank, Bristol was jailed for two-and-a-half years on Wednesday.

He had previously failed to turn up at a court hearing in April, but later gave himself up and admitted conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.

Three other men were jailed in June after admitting their part in the same plot.

Drug network

The judge commended the National Crime Squad for its investigation and said the inquiry, Operation Gabon, was an example of "policing of the highest order".

The squad's Bristol and Southampton branches, in conjunction with Customs, had established two operations spanning two years.

They involved over 100 officers and extended though Europe, West Africa, Canada and the US to track drugs destined for the UK.

The drugs had a street value of £6m

In July 2000 a series of raids were carried out in Bristol, Kent, Coventry, Hampshire, together with simultaneous swoops in Holland, Belgium and Jamaica.

The National Crime Squad, assisted by colleagues in Holland and Belgium, seized nearly 3,000 kilos of high-quality cannabis.

The shipments, with a street value of about £6m, were part of a major drug importation network into the UK from Jamaica, say police.

The majority of the drugs were seized in huge containers transported on cargo ships to Rotterdam through to Belgium, before going to the UK.