North East dad who imported £50m of cocaine hidden in artificial grass from Holland jailed

In summer 2023 Peter Lamb set up and registered two "cover" companies, named Lomax, with warehouses based in the North East of England, to import turf from mainland Europe into the UK.

Newcastle Crown Court in May 2024 Customs officers in Holland searched two of the consignments and found that the fake grass rolls contained special compartments where a total of £13m cocaine was hidden.

National Crime Agency officers then raided Lamb's warehouse buildings and found abandoned turf rolls from 18 previous consignments, which contained the same secret compartments. The court heard most of the "hides" were empty save from one which contained a kilo of cocaine that had been "overlooked".

None of the artificial grass that was imported had been sold on to customers. Prosecutor Stephen McNally told the court in 2023 Lamb began making regular trips to Amsterdam, around 15 in total.

Mr McNally said: "The Crown say these were preparatory business trips for the later enterprise that would arise. In July or August 2023 he set up and registered two companies which had the professional business of importation of artificial grass from mainland Europe, with warehouse premises in Newcastle and Stockton."

Mr McNally said in May 2024 customs officials in Holland examined two consignments of artificial grass that were destined for Lamb's UK business and added: "Officers identified, during the course of that examination, concealed hides in the centre of one of the three roles that made up each consignment."

The court heard one consignment contained 85 kilos of cocaine and the other 74 kilos, with a "comfortable" wholesale value of around £5m, or around £13m on the streets. Mr McNally said the cocaine was replaced with "dummy drug" and delivered to one of Lamb's warehouses, which he accepted.

Officers returned the following day and arrested him.

Mr McNally said empty artificial grass rolls were found from a previous 18 shipments and they had the same "hides", which were empty but added: "In one of the hides there was a recovery of an overlooked kilo of cocaine that appeared to have been left by chance."

He added that the total amount of cocaine imported during the total of 20 shipments was "somewhere in the region of 1,480 kilos, worth £32,000 each" and told the court: "That would be £47,360,000 at warehouse prices and considerably higher if sold at street level."

Lamb, 66, of Mayfair Gardens, Gateshead, admitted conspiracy to fraudulently evade prohibition on importation of a Class A drug. Judge Gavin Doig jailed him for 17 years and told him: "You played a crucial role in the importation into this country of nearly a tonne and a half of cocaine."

Judge Doig said the Lamb's businesses, which were named Lomax, were "set up as a front from the importation of cocaine" and that the artificial grass was simply "left in the warehouse". The judge added it was a "significant conspiracy" involving people who were not as easily linked to the drugs as Lamb.

The court heard Lamb has significant health problems and admitted he had been an "idiot" to get involved in something he was unable to get out of.

NCA senior investigating officer Al Mullen said: "Artificial grass is one of the more unusual concealments I’ve seen used to smuggle cocaine but no matter what tactics criminals use, the NCA will find both the drugs and the importers.

"We caught Lamb red-handed and uncovered his year-long conspiracy to flood UK streets with one-and-a-half tonnes of the drug. Cocaine destroys communities and lives, but this joint operation with officers in the Netherlands has disrupted its supply in the UK."