A WOMAN has been jailed after £3.3m worth of cannabis was seized in Belfast and Heathrow Airport in London in 2020.
Yingle Jiang plead guilty to possession with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of Class B controlled drugs.
She also admitted removing and attempting to remove criminal property, as well as encouraging or assisting offences under the Serious Crime Act.
At Belfast Crown Court on Friday, the 40-year-old was sentenced to a total of three years and nine months.
Jiang was ordered to serve one year in prison, with the remainder of her sentence to be spent on licence.
“Jiang was identified as a significant member of an organised crime gang behind a number of large cash and drug transactions,” said Detective Inspector Kelly of the PSNI.
Speakers
In May 2020, £50,000 was recovered in Belfast concealed within a rice cooker.
A further £50,000 — also concealed within a rice cooker originating from Belfast — was seized in Birmingham by West Midlands Police.
The following month, a pallet of music speakers containing cannabis with a potential street value of £1.4m was intercepted in Heathrow Airport, destined for an address in east Belfast.
Meanwhile, in July 2020, cannabis with a potential street value of £1.9m was recovered from a house in east Belfast.
The drugs had been sent from Birmingham and were also concealed within speakers.
A month later, searches of three properties in south and east Belfast uncovered a further quantity of cannabis and a large amount of cash.
It was on this occasion that Jiang and a man were arrested.
‘Most vulnerable’
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates our ongoing commitment to prevent the supply of illegal drugs and to prosecute those criminals involved in the supply of illegal drugs,” said DI Kelly.
“Detectives worked tirelessly to detect this criminality and identify those involved — subsequently bringing a full evidential package before the court.
“These drugs would have made their way to other criminal gangs across Northern Ireland and, by the onward supply and profiteering, increased their grip on the community.
“Drug gangs prey on the most vulnerable members of our communities with the sole aim of maintaining their lifestyle and status.”