Bags of cannabis found at Royal Mail sorting office

Cannabis packages posted from California to addresses in Cardiff were discovered at a Royal Mail sorting office, a court has heard.

Jurors at a trial at Newport Crown Court were told millions of pounds worth of cannabis, some in packages labelled as Yankee Candles, were smuggled into the UK.

Two defendants, Mohammed Hussain, 28, and Abu Hussain, 28, changed their plea on Thursday and admitted conspiring to import the class B drug.

Two other defendants, Sean Montgomery, 24, and Steven Munroe, 44, deny all charges against them.

On Friday the court heard both men told police they had no knowledge of what was inside the packages.

Jurors heard from PC Lucy Lloyd who said 18 bags of vacuum packed cannabis were found by postal workers at the Cardiff sorting office.

Police weighed the bags and found there was just over 8kg (17lb) of cannabis at the site on Penarth Road.

All four men, from Cardiff, were charged with smuggling more than 300kg (661lb) of cannabis from California and New York into the UK using the postal service.

On Friday the court heard the statement Mr Montgomery provided to police officers when he was arrested.

He denied supplying or importing class B drugs and denied being a member of an organised crime group.

He admitted going to the Royal Mail depot in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, but said he was not there to collect the parcels, just to check they were there.

He said: "I do not know what the parcels I was enquiring about were".

Jurors were also read a transcript of the police interview with Mr Munroe, who denied supplying or importing class B drugs and denied being a member of an organised crime group.

He said he took in a parcel for a neighbour but "didn't have a clue" what was inside.

Mohammed Hussain and Abu Hussain have pleaded guilty to supplying a controlled class B drug and conspiracy to import class B drugs.

Mr Montgomery and Mr Munroe deny both charges.

The case continues.