£2m cannabis haul at Dover
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by Vanessa Wells • An artic belonging to a London man which was stopped at Dover Docks by Customs contained cannabis with a street value of more than £2m.
Kenneth Harris of Welling Way, Welling appeared at Canterbury Crown Court accused of conspiracy to import cannabis and being knowingly concerned. Facing the same charges are David Ng, of Wincester Road, London; John Mingworth, of Russell Street, Greenwich; and Ronald Palumbo, of Higham Station Avenue, Chingford, Essex.
All the defendants deny the charges.
James Vine, prosecuting, said that a large cache of cannabis was found expertly concealed in the trailer. Four trips had been made by this truck, he added, and Harris was the organiser. Palumbo, a serving police officer, travelled with Harris on the trips, usually returning by air, the court heard. Palumbo is Harris's son-in-law. The vehicle was driven by Ng or Illingworth, said Vine The court also heard that on two of the four trips either Palumbo or Ng travelled out to Calais on the 01:00hrs ferry to meet the truck on its return to England.
Vine said: "It would of course be very important to drug smugglers to know if their goods had been detected by Customs, and what better way of finding Out than by travelling discreetly on the same ferry and waiting to see if it emerged from the docks?"
The trial continues.