Trial over £1.6m heroin smuggled in carpets
25.07.08
A plot to smuggle heroin worth £1.6 million into the UK woven in Afghan rugs was foiled by a police sting, a court heard this week. The drug was detected by Customs officers at Manchester Airport and the three packages swapped to trap the conspirators, a jury at Bradford Crown Court was told.
On trial are Waseem Rauf, 22, of Exmouth Place, Wapping, Bradford, and Tracy Schofield, 41, of Briggs Street, Queensbury, Bradford. Both plead not guilty to conspiracy to contravene the Customs and Excise Management Act by importing heroin hidden in rugs.
Prosecutor Graham Reeds told the court that Alan Hoffman-Balmer, of Haycliffe Road, Little Horton, Bradford, had pleaded guilty to involvement in the conspiracy. He said Hoffman-Balmer had a history of serious criminal convictions, twice serving ten-year prison sentences for robbery.
Mr Reeds said the three packages arrived at Manchester Airport Cargo Centre from Kabul on January 25 this year. They had been sent by Federal Express to Ms Schofield’s home address, labelled ‘19 Afghani rugs’. The outside of one parcel tested positive for heroin and, when a knife was inserted, the blade showed traces of powder that also tested positive for the drug.
Scientists at the Home Office Forensic Science Laboratory found lots of thin paper tubes containing heroin woven into the fabric of the rugs. Mr Reeds said it was an ingenious, although not uncommon, way of smuggling the drug into the UK. The jury heard that 15.7 kg of heroin was recovered, with a street value of £1.6 million.
On January 31, substitute parcels were left at the FedEx office to trap the conspirators. Mr Reeds alleged that Ms Schofield was part of the collection team and Mr Rauf was involved at a higher level to move the heroin once it had arrived.
The trial continues.
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