Overview
- Birmingham Crown Court sentenced Colin Bartlett, 54, to 24 months suspended for two years and Lee Bartlett, 30, to 18 months suspended for two years after August convictions for participating in an organised crime group, and the pair were acquitted of a separate importation conspiracy charge.
- NCA officers in May 2023 seized more than 420kg of heroin with an estimated street value of about £20.3m from a shipping container in Birmingham after watching the consignment being unloaded.
- Investigators say the drugs were imported from Afghanistan using a front company with a fictitious director and concealed by lacing heroin into 2.6 tonnes of pomegranate juice mixed with legitimate bottles.
- Officers moved in as the container was being unloaded by the Bartletts and paid workers, and authorities say the 11 workers arrested at the scene are not believed to have been involved in the import conspiracy.
- Two men remain wanted: Shamut Khan, 56, and Matiullah Zamankhel, 23, both from Washwood Heath, who failed to answer bail in November 2023, with the NCA urging sightings or information via its hotline or Crimestoppers.