Dealer hid cocaine worth £120m in artificial grass

A man has been jailed for smuggling £120m worth of cocaine into the UK by hiding it in rolls of artificial grass.

Peter Lamb, of Mayfair Gardens, Gateshead, oversaw the operation for almost a year stashing drugs from the Netherlands in warehouses in Stockton-on-Tees and Newcastle.

Dutch authorities notified the National Crime Agency (NCA) after the 66-year-old was seen using a forklift truck to move the grass, with drugs hidden inside, into a warehouse.

Lamb pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Class A drugs at Newcastle Crown Court in March and was jailed for 17 years at the same court on Friday.

The court heard how he was caught out on 20 May 2024 after taking another shipment following a joint operation by the NCA and Dutch authorities.

After his arrest, investigators found a kilo of cocaine and artificial grass inside a Newcastle warehouse.

Officers also found evidence that Lamb made frequent trips to the Netherlands and set up two grass supply companies in the summer of 2023.

Investigators found no evidence of the businesses selling products and believed his trips were to meet co-conspirators.

Lamb received 20 deliveries containing of a total of 60 rolls of grass, which were found at the North East warehouses, the NCA said.

Twenty of the rolls contained hides and investigators believed that Lamb had conspired to import around one and a half tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated street value of almost £120m.

Al Mullen, NCA senior investigating officer, said: "Artificial grass is one of the more unusual concealments I've seen used to smuggle cocaine but no matter what tactics criminals use, the NCA will find both the drugs and the importers.

"We caught Lamb red-handed and uncovered his year-long conspiracy to flood UK streets with drugs.

"Cocaine destroys communities and lives, but this joint operation with officers in the Netherlands has disrupted its supply in the UK."

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