Rochdale man jailed in multi-million pound cannabis sting

Date published: 21 June 2010

A Rochdale man has been jailed for six years after plans to sell £9.5 million worth of cannabis in Essex were uncovered during an undercover operation by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.

John Fearnley, 40, was one of a dozen men charged with importing two huge shipments of the drug, hidden in boxes of cucumbers in the back of lorries from Spain.

The arrests were made in two waves, the first in Orsett, Essex, on 27 June 2009 and the second just two weeks later on 12 July in West London as the gang unloaded and attempted to process the drug.