Overview
- Colin Bartlett, 54, received 24 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years, and Lee Bartlett, 30, received 18 months suspended for two years at Birmingham Crown Court on November 21.
- NCA officers in May 2023 intercepted a container with 2.6 tonnes of pomegranate juice and made arrests as it was being unloaded in Birmingham.
- Investigators say the heroin was concealed within the liquid and mixed with legitimate bottles, using a front company with a fictitious director to import from Afghanistan.
- Two men, Shamut Khan, 56, and Matiullah Zamankhel, 23, remain wanted after failing to answer bail in November 2023, with links to the Alum Rock and Shaw Hill Road areas.
- The NCA says the organised operation aimed to import huge quantities of class A drugs into the UK, risking harm to vulnerable people and yielding substantial criminal proceeds.