Pontefract man jailed for conspiring to import £720K worth of drugs into UK
A Pontefract man has been jailed for conspiring to import drugs following an investigation by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU).
Christopher Sale, aged 47, of West Avenue, South Elmsall, was sentenced to four years and nine months at Sheffield Crown court yesterday (July 27) for conspiring to import a controlled drug with intent to evade restriction.
He has been jailed for his involvement in the large-scale drug operation led by Russell King who was jailed for 22 years in 2025.
Sale assisted King with the importation of cannabis resin into the UK hidden inside a motorhome on numerous trips from mainland Europe.
Sale and King hid two holdalls full of the Class B drug, with a street value of £720,000, in compartments within the Fiat motorhome before crossing the North Sea by ferry from Rotterdam to Hull in July 2024.
Later in 2024, King used the motorhome to import 100kg of Ketamine using the same ferry route.
Following King’s arrest, officers from YHROCU established that he had also been instrumental in the importation of 632 kilos of ketamine into the UK during July 2023, working from mainland Europe to oversee the movement of the drugs.
During the investigation the wider organised crime group, which Sale was part of, was identified, arrested and charged.