This is the moment a police sniffer dog found £10 million of cannabis hidden in a lorry full of rabbit hay.
Mark Owens, 58, and Paul Seabrook, 52, have been jailed for over 18 years after the stash was uncovered on the Dartford Crossing in Kent.
Woolwich Crown Court heard how roads policing officers pulled the lorry over at about 9am on Thursday May 12, 2016.
They carried out a search of its container when the driver was unable to provide sufficient information on what he was transporting or any relevant paperwork.
Several pallets holding boxes of rabbit hay were found a sniffer dog called Sonny soon alerted officers to something more sinister.
Police then discovered the individual packets of hay had been loaded on top of cannabis with an estimated street value of up to £10.2 million.
Owens was arrested on Thursday January 25 and later admitted to being involved in the conspiracy between November 2015 and May 2016.
He had use of a site in Rainham, which was next door to the intended destination of the lorry, as well as an earlier shipment supposedly containing rabbit hay in April 2016.
Owens was also proven to have had contact with Seabrook around the time of the police discovery.
Seabrook was involved in arranging the collection of the shipment in April 2016.
His telephone number was provided by an associate to a lorry driver who was due to make the pick-up.
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector James Derham said: “Criminals often go to great lengths to cover up their illegal activities, and on this occasion they tried to do so literally by placing packets of rabbit hay on top of more than £10 million worth of cannabis.
“Conspiring to sell drugs is a serious crime and we are committed to targeting the organised groups who believe the law does not apply to them and who put their own financial interests above all else.
“I hope the outcome of this case sends a strong message to such offenders that we are committed and equipped to tackling organised crime groups across the county and beyond.”
Owens, of Clacton, Essex, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cannabis and was jailed for nine years and eight months on Friday.
Seabrook, of Hornchurch, London, was convicted following a trial and sentenced to nine years.
The rabbit hay seized from the back of the lorry was donated to the RSPCA.
By Ben Gelblum and Yasmin-May Harisha
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
