Drug dealers jailed after importing cannabis in bulk from USA

A pair of drug dealers who imported and supplied bulk quantities of cannabis have been jailed.

Adenaurys Anglero Abreu and Akil Beale were involved in a large-scale drugs business from a home in Strelley, Nottingham, and other properties across the Midlands.

An investigation by detectives in Nottinghamshire revealed Abreu had imported almost 350kg of the Class B drug from the United States.

The pair were spotted by officers on patrol when they left the property in Blidworth Close, Strelley carrying a large blue carrier bag on 16 January 2023.

When officers pulled over Abreu’s Mercedes a short distance away the bag was found to be full of vacuum-packed cannabis.

Abreu tried to hide his mobile phone in his underpants before he was arrested but the device was later recovered following a strip search.

When officers seized Beale’s phone, messages immediately began popping up on the screen with people discussing drug deals.

Large quantities of cannabis were found in the hallway, kitchen and bedroom of the property – with the Class B drug also being weighed out on scales.

Thousands of pounds in cash was also discovered in bundles of notes and coins in the bedroom.

Detectives carried out a detailed investigation which revealed Abreu had been involved in the importation of cannabis between July 2022 and January 2023 to various addresses across the Midlands.

There was evidence he was using an app to advertise different strains of cannabis and a raffle had been held among clients for participants to win quantities of the Class B drug.

Abreu was shown to be sending out directions to Beale and drug ‘runners’ to complete deals on his behalf.

He also spoke to a contact in the US about his business model and possible payment using Bitcoin.

Twenty-seven-year-old Abreu, of Courtenay Gardens, Nottingham, was put behind bars for a total of ten-and-a-half years when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (31 January).

He had earlier pleaded guilty to being concerned in the importation of a Class B drug, offering to supply cannabis and possession of criminal property.

Beale, aged 24, of Thurgarton Street, Nottingham, was jailed for six years after being convicted of supplying a Class B drug and possession of criminal property.

Detective Sergeant James Hirst, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“This was a large-scale operation and Abreu and Beale were clearly making substantial amounts of money while getting other people to do their dirty work for them.

“We work closely with our partners and border agencies to tackle the importation of drugs and when there is intelligence suggesting that drugs are headed for Nottinghamshire we will act on it.

“Drugs continue to have a devastating impact on our communities, which is why we are determined to stop any such activity in its tracks and bring those who spread such misery in our communities to justice.

“Removing drug dealers from the streets makes communities across Nottinghamshire safer and we have shown consistently that we will act on local intelligence to swiftly remove people who cause harm in our neighbourhoods. 

“Local residents can help make their own communities safer by reporting any information about drug dealing to Nottinghamshire Police on 101.”