Posted on 11/18/2006 10:57:58 AM PST by Paleo Conservative
A BA flight engineer planned to smuggle £5million worth of cocaine into Britain — in a jumbo jet’s NOSECONE.
Gary Crane, 51, even staged a dummy run with a fake 20kg package flown from South Africa.
Crane was recruited by a smuggling gang as he could move around freely at Heathrow.
Pub landlord Raymond Harmes, 49, masterminded the operation in his pub in Stanwell, Middlesex — ironically named The Happy Landing.
But they were unaware one of their gang was an undercover cop.
And in South Africa it was a local detective who placed the fake drugs on the plane.
Baggage handler Neil Weir, 42, turned supergrass when they were rumbled, Reading Crown Court heard this week.
Harmes and Crane were each handed 13 years behind bars last year.
But as a result of Weir’s revelations, police realised they had already smuggled large amounts of cocaine into the UK — believed to be around £13million worth.
The pair both admitted further smuggling charges. Harmes received 13 years and eight months, while Crane, of Upper Halliford, Surrey, got nine years and nine months, both terms to run concurrently with their initial sentences.
Weir, of Ashford, West London, admitted smuggling but his sentence was reduced to five-and-a-half years.
Frank Asante, a “principal” in the ring, got 23 years.
I drink Pepsi.
LOL
Oh yeah, his real name is Gary, but we just nicknamed him 747.
Excuse me but that is my dad you are talkin about and i’ll have you lot know that they were set up big time by CID there was never a plan to stash anything in a 747 nose it was all thought up by the police/CID and they fell for it!! they are sneaky bastards!!! but Gary/dad is doin good and will be home soon!!!
Go away troll, you bother me!
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