A man who smuggled £1.4 million worth of cannabis in the back of a Dutch flower lorry has been sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Mohammed Abdulrehman, 25, of Golbourne Avenue, Manchester, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis and attempted possession with intent to supply cannabis and was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court today (April 5).

He, along with lorry driver John Lader, 51, of Voorschoten in the Netherlands, were arrested in October 2018 at Cirencester Services.

Laderwas was last month given a 16 month suspended sentence. He denied knowing the packages contained cannabis, stating instead that he believed he was delivering tobacco. He pleaded guilty to four counts of attempting to fraudulently evade duty on tobacco.

Officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCO) seized 141 kilos of herbal cannabis when they searched both men's vehicles.

Detective Inspector Paul Catton from the SW ROCU said: "The drugs had been meticulously packaged in vacuum sealed bags to disguise the smell and stems of fresh flowers had been placed on top of the bags to try and make the packages fit in with the rest of the lorry’s load.

Detective Superintendent Steve Bean from Gloucestershire Police added: "This was a huge seizure of cannabis imported from Europe, concealed within a large shipment of flowers - quite literally ‘Tulips from Amsterdam’ - and was destined for wider distribution across the country.

The real flowers from the lorry have been given out to local organisations such as Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre and Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Services.

Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl said: “The flowers would have simply gone to waste, so when someone suggested handing them out to organisations in our county who do some tremendous work, working with victims of crimes and others, it was a no-brainer.

Lader was last month given a 16 month suspended sentence. He denied knowing the packages contained cannabis, stating instead that he believed he was delivering tobacco. He pleaded guilty to four counts of attempting to fraudulently evade duty on tobacco products.

Both men were arrested on October 29, 2018, at Cirencester Services. At 12.30pm, officers watched as Abdulrehman drove his rental van into the Travelodge car park, followed by Lader who arrived in his lorry half an hour later. After Abdulrehman repositioned his van close to the lorry, Lader began transferring large, flat cardboard boxes out of his lorry and into the back of the van.

When the vehicles were searched, five boxes marked ‘500’ were seized from the van, containing 13 bags of vacuum packed herbal cannabis, each weighing one kilo.

Inside the lorry, officers found a further seven boxes marked ‘500’, containing four one kilo bags. Also, boxes marked ‘2’, with eight half kilo bags inside, ‘BS’ with four one kilo bags inside, and ’55’, with five one kilo bags inside.