Hollingbourne men smuggled cocaine into UK in golf clubs
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Two Kent men
involved in smuggling almost £1m worth of drugs into the UK by
hiding them in the metal shafts of golf clubs have been jailed for
a total of 14 years.
Gray Elcombe (pictured top in the grey jumper) and Glen
Henderson (pictured bottom) were caught with cocaine and
amphetamine with a combined estimated street value of up to
£950,000.
Maidstone Crown Court heard that the drugs were flown into the
country from Costa Rica and then delivered to a haulage depot in
Tovil.
They would then be collected by a "Richard Hart" - Henderson -
and taken to the home he shared with Elcombe in Hollingbourne.
Prosecutor Alex Wilson said police raided the property in
Greenway Forstal in November last year following a tip-off from the
UK Borders Agency who had intercepted 72 golf clubs each containing
50g of cocaine.
Officers arranged for a dummy consignment to be delivered with
an undercover cop acting as the courier. Henderson collected the
cargo and was then followed on a detoured, hour-long journey to the
house.
Once there they found what was described as a factory in the
attic.
A total of 3kg of cocaine of 50 per cent purity and 27kg of
amphetamine of 40 per cent purity was seized. Other paraphernalia
included 18kg of cutting agents such as caffeine and sucrose,
scales and up to £5,000 cash.
"The wholesale value of the cocaine is £182,000 but that is a
conservative estimate and could reach a street value of some
£550,000 depending on how it was cut and by how much it was cut,"
explained Mr Wilson.
He added that that the amphetamine had a wholesale value of
£135,000 but could be worth up to £400,000 on the street.
Mr Wilson also told the court that investigations revealed
return traffic to Costa Rica whereby a set of golf clubs had been
sent back for refill.
Elcombe, who told police he was an antiques dealer, and
Henderson admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to
supply amphetamine.
Elcombe, 40, was jailed for a total of eight years and
Henderson, who is also 40 and was described as a "run-around", was
jailed for six years. Both men have already served 119 days on
remand.
Judge Andrew Patience QC told them: "It doesn't need me to say
that anyone who plays a part in the supply and distribution of
drugs plays a very large part in the misery that is caused to so
many people in this country."
Friday, March 05 2010
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