Gang jailed for smuggling over millions worth of drugs in mattresses

By Ashley Pemberton via SWNS

Three men have been jailed for their part in a plot to smuggle millions of pounds worth of drugs into the UK - hidden in mattresses.

Weiji Chen, 29, John Kinsella, 34, and his brother Luke Kinsella, 23, were snared by cops in January as they brought £2m worth of cannabis into the country.

The 334kg of drugs were concealed in a shipping container and sent by boat to Liverpool docks before being driven by lorry to a storage unit in Widnes, Cheshire.

Eight bed frames contained 668 sealed packages of cannabis, prosecutors said.

The CPS said Chen was responsible for arranging for the cannabis to be imported into the UK from Canada to be sold on at a profit.

John Kinsella was one of Chen’s regular buyers who wanted a part of the imported cannabis to supply it to others, they added.

Luke Kinsella was said to be 'keen to assist' his brother and Chen with unloading the imported cannabis, so the high-grade strain could be supplied on by the brothers.

The CPS said the conspiracy started in September 2023 when a number of ‘test runs’ arranged by Chen and John Kinsella were carried out.

These importations were of a much smaller scale and were sent directly from Canada into the UK using the postal service.

The truck with the drugs arrived at a unit called The Storage Team around 9 am and Chen directed the lorry into the car park.

The packages were unloaded and the men went into the building. Shortly after, Cheshire police officers entered the facility and arrested them.

Chen and John Kinsella admitted importing and supplying cannabis between September 2023 and 16 January 2024 at Liverpool Crown Court.

Chen was jailed for seven years and Kinsella for six years and six months.

Luke Kinsella pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and was jailed for four years.

Speaking after the men were jailed on Tuesday, Senior crown prosecutor Olivia Cristinacce-Travis said: "Over a few months, Weiji Chen and John Kinsella were involved in the importation of cannabis into Liverpool docks on an industrial scale, valued at over £2 million.

"Due to the sophisticated nature of the importation, this was a complex prosecution."