Three men involved in a drug smuggling operation that concealed more than £450 million worth of cocaine inside wheels of Gouda cheese were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday. The three individuals acted as couriers for a criminal network responsible for importing over 4.5 tonnes of the class A drug into the United Kingdom.

The gang transported the cocaine in shrink-wrapped pallets disguised as cheese, with shipments arriving via Dover before distribution across northern England. The convicted men are Brandon Eley, 31, from Tamworth, Staffordshire; Aaron McNally, 38, from Manchester; and Antony Etheridge, 70, of no fixed address. Their prison terms range from 18 months to nearly eleven years.

This sentencing marks the conviction of 22 members linked to the organized crime group, following a protracted investigation led by West Yorkshire Police. The inquiry uncovered that between December 2022 and April 2023, the group imported a total of 123,568 kilograms of cheese, with roughly a quarter of this weight containing concealed cocaine.

The illicit substances were covertly distributed to several locations including Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Halifax in West Yorkshire, and Blackburn. Authorities have emphasized the scale of the operation and the coordinated effort required to intercept and dismantle the network. Further prosecutions are anticipated as the investigation continues.