Raid driver claims innocence
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• A Runcorn-based driver who claims he simply happened to be in a South London garage when Customs raided it has been arrested and held in custody charged with conspiring to import cannabis. John Warburton says he took his truck to the garage on 2 April to have valves replaced. While he was waiting for his vehicle Customs officers burst in and found cannabis stored in some blue drums.
When Customs officers raided Warburton's Runcorn home later that month they found nothing incriminating. The 52year-old driver is currently awaiting trial.
His wife Sheila, who suffers from Crohn's disease, describes Customs' treatment of her husband as "disgusting". "John was handcuffed for a three-hour car journey down to London for an interview with Customs," she says.
She cannot raise the security for her husband's £20,000 bail and says the stress of his plight is making her illness worse. "John would not do this to me," she says. "He has been a great carer for me."
Miles Bonfield of Custom's National Investigation Service declines to comment on the case.