How specialist police team count up the cost of Notts drugs operations

A specialist police team who played a pivotal role in uncovering a £1.1m drugs operation have described the work they did to bring an offender to justice.

The drug expert witness team play an integral part in investigations; not only determining the street value of any drugs seized but also how these drugs have been transported into Nottinghamshire.

They can also trawl through hundreds of text messages between the suspects and their associates through seized electronic devices to work out the full scale of their operation.

In November 2022, they built up an intelligence picture of a large-scale cannabis operation where 117 kilograms of cannabis was found.

The cannabis was ordered from California and arrived in the UK where it was then intercepted by Border Force at a cargo terminal at East Midlands Airport.

The drugs were found in the back of a van concealed inside wrapping and cardboard boxes.

The case was passed to Nottinghamshire Police and the drugs experts were called in to evaluate the street value of the cannabis seized and then present this evidence in court.

The team valued the drugs at around £1.1m.

They also built up a detailed picture of the operation including how they planned to import drugs to the UK and the organisational structure of this criminal group.

Curtis Campbell, aged 32, of Oulton Lodge, Rise Park, was sentenced on 21 February 2023 at Nottingham Crown Court to four years and eight months.

He was convicted of fraudulently evading the prohibition of a class B drug into the country and offering to supply a controlled class B drug.

Describing the work of the team, Sergeant Graham Whitt, from Nottinghamshire Police’s Drugs and Substance Interventions team, said:

“This was a complex and large-scale drugs seizure which wouldn’t have been possible to unpick and solve without the independent expertise of our drugs experts.

“The drugs experts analysed how the drugs were packaged and looked closely at the quantities of each substance inside the shipments.

“From this they were able to calculate the scale of the operation and this information was then compiled into a comprehensive report which was presented by the drug expert in court.

“This knowledge was then vital in helping the court to decide the sentence Campbell should receive.”

The team’s expert knowledge was also used in a case involving a warrant in Eastwood in May 2020 which resulted in 828 cannabis plants being recovered.

The drugs found were given a street value at the time of £695,000. Drug experts will come to this conclusion by studying the plants, examining their size and condition.

They are known as drug expert witnesses because of their pivotal role in court where they use their detailed knowledge to inform people about the case.

The team are also skilled in understanding the language used by drug dealers, translating the terminology used amongst criminal networks.

Sergeant Whitt added:

“The drug expert witnesses play an integral part in our investigations and are independent of any case.

“They provide the courts with a wealth of detailed knowledge. This can include simplifying the language used by drug dealers to how certain drugs might be transported.

“The courts continue to utilise our drug experts to help break down complex drug operations."