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Two individuals have been sentenced to jail time after being found guilty of smuggling cannabis valued at £9 million from Manchester into Northern Ireland by concealing it within wooden flooring. Yudong Ouyang, 32, and Gary Hon, 26, both Chinese nationals from Manchester, grew large amounts of cannabis and utilized Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) to transport it via ferry to Northern Ireland. The National Crime Agency (NCA) reported that the men selected Northern Ireland due to the higher selling price they could command for the drugs.
The method used involved hollowing out the flooring to create a hidden space where the drugs could be stored before being transported in pallets. Hon was taken into custody by NCA officers in February 2022, while Ouyang was arrested in December 2023. Both individuals pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply class B drugs at Manchester Crown Court. Consequently, Hon was sentenced to three years and one month in prison, while Ouyang received a sentence of three years and six months.
According to the NCA, messages exchanged in Mandarin between June 2019 and February 2020 revealed discussions on cannabis, warehouse leases, and travel arrangements to Northern Ireland. Investigators discovered up to 38 deliveries from Manchester to Belfast within a nine-month period. The inner sections of the wooden flooring pallets were altered to provide a concealed area for hiding the drugs, prior to their shipment to Northern Ireland using a legitimate shipping agent who was unaware of the illegal contents.
NCA’s findings indicate that each delivery may have involved up to 50kg of cannabis. Additionally, phone evidence revealed that Ouyang frequently sent images of cannabis, cannabis farms, or selfies taken at the farms. Furthermore, his fingerprints were found at a cannabis farm that was raided as part of the investigation. Barry Vinall, NCA operations manager, labeled the men as “key players” in an extensive cannabis supply network. He emphasized that the organized crime group specifically targeted Northern Ireland due to the higher prices for their drugs and attempted to maintain the appearance of legitimacy, which was ultimately uncovered through thorough investigations into their communications and movements
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