Drug smuggler put behind bars

A HALIFAX man who used two vehicles fitted with secret compartments to deliver drugs and cash as part of highly-sophisticated crime network has been jailed for eight years.

The Vauxhall Combo van and VW Passat seized by West Yorkshire police last December will now be forfeited and prosecutor James Lake said they could be used to educate other police forces.

Ben Hardy, 29, who had no previous convictions, was arrested last December after police stopped the Vauxhall panel van he was driving on Victoria Road in Elland.

Bradford Crown Court heard that officers found a specially fitted hydraulic compartment behind the bulkhead which was capable to storing large items.

During a search of Hardy’s home at Riley Lane, Illingworth, officers recovered about 1.7 kilograms of high purity heroin from his bedroom and the garage together with £6000 in cash and about half-a-kilo of cannabis.

Mr Lake said Hardy was a highly trusted and important member of an organised crime group rather than simply a courier.

He said the defendant had been involved in the delivery of massive quantities of cash and drugs and had also been chasing up debts and payments from customers.

The court heard that the VW Passat also had a secret compartment for concealing drugs and Hardy’s records showed he had delivered 30kgs of cocaine in September last year with similar amounts in October and November.

Hardy pleaded guilty to charges of possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply and the judge said the highpurity levels of the cocaine was an aggravating feature because it indicated it was being handled very close to the point of importation.

Officers recovered about 1.7 kilograms of high purity heroin and £6000 in cash

ONLINE: Read more on this at www.halifaxcourier.co.uk