Man jailed over cannabis importation scheme

A man who attempted to import tens of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis from the USA into Bedfordshire has been jailed.

Detectives worked with the UK Border Force to intercept parcels containing around £50,000 of cannabis which Ashley Lewin was attempting to collect from various addresses around Luton.

It marks another success in Bedfordshire Police's ongoing efforts to combat violence and exploitation linked to organised crime.

Two people were arrested after police stopped a vehicle in Luton and recovered cannabis and cocaine.

Subsequent searches at an address in Luton resulted in cocaine worth £34,000 and cannabis worth £12,000 being seized.

Last year, border force identified a series of packages containing cannabis which had been sent to false names at addresses across the south of the county.

Detectives from Bedfordshire Police interviewed a number of suspects at these addresses and began to close in on a single suspect who was orchestrating all these deliveries and would come around to collect the parcels.

Officers were able to link this suspect's phone number to Lewin, 36, and carried out a warrant at his home address in Furzehill Road, Borehamwood in November.

They recovered the phone which had been involved in several of the deliveries, as well as almost £50,000 of cannabis, around £37,000 in cash as well as designer clothes and expensive jewellery.

Lewin pleaded guilty to both fraudulent evasion of prohibition as well as possession with intent to supply Class B drugs. 

On Friday (24 February) he was given two year jail terms for both offences, which will be served at the same time.

DC Adam Geary, who led the investigation, said: "This has been a painstaking process to identify and apprehend a man behind a complex criminal enterprise.

"Lewin surrounded himself with luxury items as he spent cash that was made off an illegal industry that ruins lives.

"I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the investigation to put him behind bars."