Seventh person jailed in Leeds drug plot to import £1.5 billion worth of cocaine in frozen chicken packs

Brandon Maan, aged 24, of Churchbank Way, Dewsbury, was part of the gang involved in the nationwide conspiracy to import and distribute large quantities of the Class A drug – with an estimated street value of £1.59 billion.

Appearing before Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing yesterday, Maan, who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Cocaine, a class A controlled drug was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.

Six other people connected to the plot, which involved importing the Class A drug from the Netherlands hidden in pallets of frozen chicken, were given prison terms totalling 58 years at Sheffield Crown Court in November.

Police seized 311 kilos of cocaine, estimated to be worth £31million, and 35 kilos (£7 million) of methylamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, from addresses in Leeds and Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury.

Further enquiries established that the cocaine had been brought into the country hidden within pallets of frozen chicken imported to the UK. A total of 318 pallets of chicken were imported, inside which it is estimated there was and estimated 15.9 tons of cocaine, with an estimated value of £1.59 billion.

It was heard that Leeds man Stephen Rayner played a leading role, while his sister Cherie-Anne Rayner and her partner Liam Harrington used their Flaxton Street home to weigh and re-package the drugs.

Megan Budden, Steven Gibson, Darren Hunter Tabrez Hussain were also involved in the operation.

The sentencing follows an investigation by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU).