A drug smuggler caught importing cannabis worth £200,000 into the UK from Germany has been jailed for 16 months.
Tien Le, aged 33, arranged for 17kg of the herbal drug to be delivered to Tennison Road, South Norwood in 32 packages.
His accomplice, 53-year-old Loc Tan Nguyen, was handed a suspended 12-month jail term for agreeing to let his house be used as the delivery address.
The pair were caught after two parcels addressed to Nguyen's house were intercepted by border control in Cologne in April last year.
German officials forwarded the parcels to Heathrow, from where the UK Border Force passed them to police in Croydon.
Croydon's police drugs squad then arranged for a controlled delivery of dummy parcels to the Tennison Road property, exectuting a search warrant soon after.
They arrested both Le and Nguyen on suspicion of importing controlled drugs. Both were charged with importing class B drugs in September and pleaded guilty on January 17.
They were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court yesterday.
Nguyen, whose jail term was suspended for two years, was also ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid community work.
Detective Constable Kieran Given, of Croydon police, said: "This was a great example of working closely with our partners from Border Force here in the UK along with colleagues in Germany to identify and bring to justice two men involved in the importation of drugs into the UK.
Tien Le
"Although they both initially tried to deny their involvement, the weight of evidence meant they had little choice but to plead guilty at court."
"The presence of drugs seriously harms our communities - whether it is through the direct impact on the health of those using the drugs, or the impact of crime and antisocial behaviour that is linked to the supply and use of drugs."
Brian Hill, acting director of Border Force at Heathrow, said: "Cases like this show how Border Force officers at Heathrow work closely with the Metropolitan Police and colleagues in other countries to keep illegal drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.
"Those who attempt to smuggle drugs should be in no doubt that they will be targeted and brought to justice."
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