A GANG which imported huge consignments of cannabis into the Bury area from Northern Spain, hidden in tins of panko breadcrumbs, are today starting jail sentences totalling nearly 13 years.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) eventually stopped a van on a quiet country lane in Heywood and found a van containing 39 kilos of flowering cannabis bush and nearly 60 kilos of cannabis resin.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard the street value, at resale, for the drugs, which were found hidden inside tins, was around £245,000.

Drug dealers insist that the operation, which saw the cannabis transferred between vans in London, after it was shipped in from Alicante, was the brainchild of Albanian criminal gangs.

But Judge Bernadette Baxter, passing sentence, said: "It was clear that this was a well-planned and professional operation and it must be obvious to all that anyone involved in a conspiracy like this must expect immediate custodial sentences."

Ringleader Daniel Gore, 41, of Heywood Road, Prestwich, who had connections with the international arm of the operation, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cannabis and conspiracy to supply cannabis. He was jailed for five years.

His accomplice Scott Hoolighan, 36, of Ribble Drive, Whitefield, who allowed his transport firm to be used as a cover for the drugs being brought up from London to the north west, was jailed for three years and nine months.

And John Arnold, 56, also of Ribble Drivee, and Javid Ahmed, 49, of Hartington Road, Stockport, who worked as the drivers, transporting the cannabis from the capital to pub grounds in Prestwich, were each jailed for two years.

John Driver, prosecuting, said Gore and Hoolighan used encrypted phones to keep in touch with each other on the day the cannabis was being brought into the UK.

An investigation by the NCA uncovered the fact that the cannabis had first been loaded into a vehicle in Alicante, before it was transferred to a Mercedes van in Northolt, in London.

Undercover surveillance was employed by investigators, in early February 2018, as the drugs were moved northwards, the court heard, though the conspirators tried to put officers off the scent by running decoy journeys and switching vehicles partway through

Mr Driver said the drugs were found when, with NCA officers closing in, Ahmed turned down a narrow country lane in the Mercedes van and was pulled over.

David Toal, for Gore, said it was clear there were other people ultimately in control of the operation who would have enjoyed the most financial benefit.

Julian Goode for Hoolighan, told the court his client, a father of five, had not been convicted by a court since 2006 and had been acting under direction.

Wayne Jackson, for Arnold, said the defendant, who has a previous conviction for heroin dealing from 2009, had only played a lesser role in the network.

Dan Travers, for Ahmed, said his client's wife suffered from a number of health problems and any custodial term would impact on his family.

Speaking after the case Nigel Coles, NCA operations manager, said: "

Nigel Coles, Operations Manager, NCA, said: "We have prevented the successful importation of a sizeable amount of cannabis, preventing those involved from selling in the UK, and ensuring they were brought to account."