Mark Green pleaded guilty on 13 May 2004 at Manchester Crown Court to conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs, conspiracy to import controlled drugs and conspiracy to launder the proceeds, and was sentenced on 2 August 2004 to 13 years’ imprisonment.[1] A number of fellow conspirators were charged with him; those convicted received sentences ranging from eleven years down to five years.[1]
Green was the principal directing mind behind a sophisticated scheme, running between July 2000 and his arrest on 18 September 2003, that brought large quantities of drugs, mostly a form of cannabis known as skunk, into Britain by post from mainland Europe in large padded envelopes of about two kilos each.[2][1] The packages went to numerous mailboxes rented by or for Green under false identities, were collected by fellow conspirators, and were distributed down the supply chain.[2][1] He admitted importing and selling about one and a half tonnes of cannabis; the small quantity of Class A drugs he supplied came from the Wigan area and was not imported.[2][1] Cash proceeds were changed into foreign currency at bureaux de change to buy further consignments, with more than 4.2 million pounds laundered this way.[2][1]
Confiscation
After a three-day hearing in January 2006 Green was made subject to a confiscation order of 2.5 million pounds, later reduced on appeal to 1,985,725 pounds; the House of Lords upheld the courts’ approach to joint proceeds in May 2008.[2][1]
