Video: Police arrests in Widnes over cannabis hidden in mattresses

As previously reported, three men have been jailed for a combined total of more than 17 years for their role in bringing millions of pounds worth of cannabis into the country.

Weijei Chen, John Kinsella, and Luke Kinsella appeared before Liverpool Crown Court recently, where they were jailed after previously pleading guilty to drug offences.

Chen, aged 29 and of Birchfield Road in Liverpool, was jailed for seven years, with John Kinsella, aged 34 and of St Julien Drive in Liverpool, locked up for six years and six months, and his brother Luke, aged 23 and of no fixed abode, incarcerated for four years.

On the morning of Monday, January, 15, CCTV captured a number of vehicles arriving at a storage unit on Tan House Lane in Widnes.

A black Audi A3 parked up, which was being driven by John Kinsella, with Luke Kinsella and Chen passengers in the vehicle.

A few minutes later, further vehicles entered the car park, including a HGV towing a trailer which had an orange shipping container on it.

This had been shipped from Canada to Liverpool, and then transported to Widnes. Inside the container was a large number of mattresses.

Cheshire Police had received intelligence regarding a HGV arriving at the location carrying a large amount of class B drugs.

As the trio stood opening the container, officers arrived at the scene and detained the trio.

The trailer and the orange shipping container were seized and later searched at a secure location, with eight large mattresses recovered.

There was a total of 668 packages hidden inside the mattresses, which included a total of 334kg of cannabis, valued at up to £2.6million.

Following enquiries, officers identified Chen as the one who rented the storage unit and arranged for the importation and delivery of the drugs.

A number of messages were found between Chen and John Kinsella, showing the latter was dealing cannabis and sourcing it from Chen.

He was aware of the shipment Chen had arranged and agreed to assist in unloading it with his brother, in return for being supplied cannabis for onward sale.

John Kinsella, Weijei Chen and Luke Kinsella have been jailed (Image: Cheshire Police)

Luke Kinsella was present on the day of the strike and subsequently accepted he knew the contents of the container, and that he was going to receive cannabis in return for assisting in unloading it, which he was going to sell. 

DS Tom Ashton said: “Illegal drugs are a blight on our community, and these three men played pivotal roles in bringing millions of pounds worth of drugs into the country.

“As such, I welcome the lengthy custodial sentence handed down to Chen, John Kinsella, and Luke Kinsella.

“As a result of intelligence received, officers from the force’s serious and organised crime unit reacted swiftly and effectively to intercept the shipment and arrest those involved in the criminality.

“Subsequent investigations by the team unearthed evidence of a long-standing conspiracy between the defendants.

“With support from the force’s in-house drugs expert unit and digital forensics unit, we were able to present a case to the CPS and ultimately the courts, accurately evidencing the hierarchy of those involved, which is reflected in the sentencing.

“I hope this serves as a stark warning to anyone who thinks they can bring drugs into Cheshire and get away with it – you will be caught.”