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Man jailed for six years over Wakefield fake ketamine delivery
Overview
Joel Freeman, 41, has been sentenced to six years in prison at Leeds Crown Court for his role in importing up to £3.75m worth of ketamine. Freeman was arrested at a Wakefield storage unit on 11 August while unpacking what he believed to be a drugs delivery, unaware that police had intercepted the shipment at Birmingham Airport days earlier and replaced it with a dummy crate. The operation involved stolen identity documents to rent the lock-up unit. Freeman pleaded guilty and will face a proceeds of crime hearing next year.
Key points
- Joel Freeman was jailed for six years at Leeds Crown Court for conspiring to import a controlled drug.
- Police intercepted 125kg of ketamine arriving from the Netherlands at Birmingham Airport and replaced it with a dummy crate.
- Freeman was arrested at a storage unit in Wakefield on 11 August while unpacking the fake delivery.
- The drugs had a UK wholesale value of up to £375,000 and a street value of up to £3.75m.
- The gang used a stolen passport and a fake bank statement belonging to another man to rent the storage unit.
- Freeman expected to be paid between £2,000 and £3,000 for receiving and storing the shipment.