# Cocaine Smuggling Ring Sentenced After £450 Million Cheese Plot Uncovered > A drugs gang was busted for hiding £450 million of cocaine inside cheese wheels, leading to 18 convictions and sentences ranging from 18 months to 27 years. - Publisher: Briefzora (https://briefzora.com) - URL: https://briefzora.com/cocaine-smuggling-ring-sentenced-after-ps450-million-cheese-plot-uncovered - Published: 2026-10-31T06:00:35+05:00 - Author: Briefzora Desk (https://briefzora.com/author/briefzora-desk) - Section: Telecom - Image: https://briefzora.com/uploads/2026/10/gang-caught-smuggling-ps450m-of-cocaine-in-blocks-of-cheese-after-45-t-evudrl.webp ## Key points - Seven gang members were jailed this week for smuggling four and a half tons of cocaine hidden in cheese wheels. - A total of 18 people have been convicted of conspiracy to supply the Class A drug after two trials and a police investigation. - The operation imported 123,568 kg of cheese between December 2022 and April 2023, using it to conceal £450 million worth of cocaine. - Saleem Chaudhri was sentenced to 27 years and six months for agreeing to sell over 2,000 kg of cocaine for more than £70 million. - Detective Inspector Kevin Daly described the case as the largest drug enterprise ever dismantled by West Yorkshire Police. ## Why it matters The convictions affect communities across West Yorkshire, the Midlands, Lancashire and the North East by removing a major cocaine supply chain and demonstrating law-enforcement capability. ## Article A drugs gang was dismantled after being caught smuggling £450 million worth of cocaine into the UK inside wheels of cheese. Seven members received jail terms this week for hiding four and a half tons of the Class A drug and moving it into the country. In total, 18 people have now been convicted of conspiracy to supply the Class A drug following two trials and a major police investigation. On Friday, three conspirators were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court, joining four others jailed earlier in the week. The operation concealed cocaine in shrink-wrapped pallets of cheese that entered the UK as commercial freight through Dover. West Yorkshire Police began the probe after stopping a car in Leeds in January 2023, seizing £2 million of cocaine and ecstasy. Investigators uncovered a sophisticated distribution network that had imported 123,568 kg of cheese between December 2022 and April 2023. After arrival in Dover, the cheese was sent to a hub in Derby, then moved by refrigerated trucks to industrial units in Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Halifax and Blackburn. Aiden McCullagh, 58, managed two hubs while Saleem Chaudhuri ran another. Ikraam Safdar, 44, operated a unit at a Halifax car wash used in the scheme. McCullagh, assisted by Craig Asquith, and Chaudhuri unpacked the cocaine blocks hidden in the cheese wheels, repackaging them into brown cardboard boxes and black bin liners. Couriers from West Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Lancashire and the North East collected the supplies. At Whitacre Industrial Park and Acorn Business Centre, Lewis Ockendon, 36, and Umar Farooq, 37, known as "trusted lieutenants," met other couriers, took their vehicles into industrial units, loaded them with cocaine and returned the vehicles for further distribution. At Yaseen Business Centre, Chaudhuri similarly met couriers, either loading vehicles inside the unit or bringing drugs to vehicles for off-site loading. In May 2023, Lancashire Police raided Chaudhri's Blackburn operation, finding 217 kg of cocaine, some still inside large blocks of Gouda cheese. The raid revealed Chaudhri had agreed to sell more than 2,000 kg for over £70 million between September 2022 and May 2023, leading to a 27-year-six-month sentence at Preston Crown Court in April 2024. After the raid, police said the network switched from cheese to chocolate spread and frozen fish mince to conceal drugs. Eight people had already been jailed, and a further seven received sentences this week. McCullagh, Goulding and Asquith were convicted of conspiracy to supply a Class A drug and sentenced in May. McCullagh, 58, of Brighouse, and Goulding, 39, of Wakefield, each received 25-year terms. Asquith, 44, of Wakefield, got ten years; Farooq, 37, of Halifax, received 15 years. Ockenden, 36, of Wakefield, was sentenced to 13 years and four months; Safdar, 44, of Halifax, got eight years and nine months. Driver John Whittell, 43, of Wakefield, received 12 years and nine months, and David Jackson, 48, of Manchester, was given 14 years and four months. This week Harry Johnson and Darren Johnson, both of Caledine Road, Leicester, were jailed for 16 and 15 years respectively; Arran Gowans, 28, of Yarm Road, Darlington, received five years and 11 months. On Friday three couriers were sentenced: Brandon Eley, 31, of Tamworth, for 10 years; Aaron McNally, 38, of Manchester, for 10 years and nine months; and Antony Etheridge, 70, of no fixed address, for 18 months. Mark Briggs, 31, Sammy Stapleton, 42, and Nathan Reilly, 26, remain unsentenced and will appear before the court later. Detective Inspector Kevin Daly of West Yorkshire Police Protective Services Crime said, "The quantities of the drug involved make it the largest criminal enterprise that we as a Force have taken down, and the success of this operation is testament to the hard work and dedication of the officers involved." He added, "They spent many months painstakingly building up a complete picture of how the operation worked and who were the key people running it in the UK. It was only by taking the required amount of time to gather a detailed and comprehensive evidential package that we were able to dismantle this distribution network as fully as we could and ensure that those who ran it were caught and held to account." ## Frequently asked questions ### How much cocaine was hidden in cheese? Four and a half tons of the Class A drug were concealed inside shrink-wrapped pallets of cheese. ### What was the total value of the cocaine smuggled? The cocaine hidden in the cheese was worth £450 million. ### How many people were sentenced for the cheese cocaine operation? Eighteen individuals have been convicted, with sentences ranging from 18 months to 27 years. --- When citing, please link to https://briefzora.com/cocaine-smuggling-ring-sentenced-after-ps450-million-cheese-plot-uncovered and name Briefzora as the source.