Craig Simpson went on the run after the gang was infiltrated by the National Crime Agency
Craig Simpson left the country after a huge cocaine smuggling plot was uncovered by the National Crime Agency in 2017. The 47-year-old was part of the drugs operation which saw crates of the Class A drug flown into Manchester Airport from Amsterdam.
The MEN reports that up to 40 kilos of cocaine was concealed within each crate during five deliveries which were made during 2017. Prosecuting, Roger Brown told Minshull Street Crown Court that the crates were imported into the UK via a shipping company and were picked up at the airport. He added: "The defendant fled the country and never returned to the UK voluntarily. He was extradited back to the UK in 2021. The defendant's explanation for why he did not return to the country is because he couldn’t get a passport as his had expired."
The judge added: "I have no doubt you know this was a sophisticated and valuable smuggling operation, but I am loyal to the jury’s finding that you didn’t know it was cocaine." In February Simpson, then 47, of Cranworth Green, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees was sentenced to eight years in prison. At London's Appeal Court his barrister argued that his sentence was "manifestly excessive.
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