Authorities uncovered the operation after a series of tip-offs and surveillance operations.
Border Force officers uncovered a significant drug haul hidden inside a shipping container at Tilbury Docks, following an operation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Daniel Yeboah, 54, Kristoffen Baidoo, 48, Kwaku Bonsu, 52, all from London, and Edward Adjei, 48, from Grays, were found guilty today at Southwark Crown Court after a three-week trial.
The container had arrived at the south Essex docks from Ghana on December 19, 2019, where it was detained before being transported to London.
Intelligence from the NCA and the Ghanaian Narcotics Control Commission indicated the presence of drugs in the container.
Upon inspection, authorities discovered 2,335 packages of herbal cannabis, weighing a total of 1.5 tonnes, concealed inside white hessian sacks of Gari powder.
The estimated street value of the drugs was around £4.3 million. The seized drugs were replaced with dummy packages.
On January 13, 2020, the container was transported from Tilbury Docks on a lorry to an industrial yard in north London, under surveillance by officers.
Yeboah, of Homerton High Street, signed the delivery note with a fake signature, and a worker at the yard used an angle grinder to remove the container seal.
Meanwhile, Bonsu, of Arthur Road, Edmonton, was seen by NCA officers driving around the industrial yard before photographing the container with his mobile phone.
Adjei was also observed dropping Baidoo off at the yard. Realising the drugs were missing, the group quickly fled the scene in separate vehicles, leaving the container behind shortly after it was opened.
The scale of the operation and the substantial financial gain from the illicit trade highlighted the increasing problem of drug trafficking in the region.
Each of the four Ghanaians was found guilty on multiple counts of drug trafficking and conspiracy.
National Crime Agency senior investigating officer Saju Sasikumar stated: “Today’s result is a testament to the collaborative international efforts between the NCA and the Ghanaian Narcotics Control Commission in intercepting the drug shipment, and the relentless work of our officers to identify the criminal group behind its importation.
“Had this substantial cannabis haul reached the UK supply chain, it would have fueled exploitation through county lines activity, as well as serious violence and knife crime.
“Bringing these dangerous criminal groups to justice and dismantling their illegal operations is a crucial part of the NCA’s mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime.”
A 10-tonne hydraulic press, commonly used for compressing drugs, was discovered at Baidoo’s residence, along with several devices seized from the men, including mobile phones and dash cams from their vehicles.
Footage retrieved from the dash cam in Adjei’s Toyota captured phone conversations with Baidoo and Yeboah shortly after the container arrived at the yard.
During one call with Yeboah, Adjei remarked, “My brother, be a little watchful. It is all a little dodgy.”
In subsequent calls, Yeboah was heard telling Adjei, “I don’t think the food [drugs] is in it” and “There was Gari inside; they have removed most of the Gari. The people are thieves.”
Text messages and emails found on Baidoo’s mobile phone revealed his plan to receive the drugs at the yard, which he had rented under a false name to conceal his identity.
Additionally, evidence showed that a bank account linked to Bonsu made multiple payments to a shipping company for the container’s delivery from Tilbury Docks to the north London yard.
All four men are scheduled to be sentenced on October 18.
