Millions of pounds worth of cocaine were transported from The Netherlands to the UK in a vans secret compartment.
Frederikus Prosman, formerly of Den Haag in The Netherlands, hid class A and B drugs in a secret compartment of his Ford Connect van to transport millions of pounds worth of cocaine and cannabis over the English Channel. Leicester Crown Court heard that once the 51-year-old arrived in the UK he drove the van to the Liverpool, West Midlands, London, Slough and Halifax to stash the drugs in houses.
Prosman was in cahoots with gang boss Ardeep Takhar, 45, formerly of Staveley Road in Leicester, who was jailed for 29 years in 2020 for controlling the importation and onward distribution of the drugs. The East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) investigation found Prosman came to the UK 46 times in 2017, using the same grey Ford Connect van on the ferry from Rotterdam into Hull.
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Evidence linked him to the seizure of 35kg of cocaine, which was recovered along with 100kg of ketamine from one of the gang’s stash houses in Willenhall, Wolverhampton, in December 2017. Later that same month he was stopped in his van by UK Border Force at King George Docks in Hull, having disembarked the Pride of Rotterdam ferry.
A search of the vehicle revealed 26kg of cannabis hidden behind wooden side panels, which were released with a custom made pulley system. A notepad containing a phone number linked to Takhar’s gang was also recovered. Prosman pleaded guilty to importing class B drugs and was sentenced to two years in jail before being deported.
Officers extradited him from The Netherlands in 2021 to face justice for the 10 trips he had made to Willenhall, as well as his supplies to other drug importers across the country throughout 2017. The Dutch citizen was also found to have met another of his cocaine customers, Philip Sheward, in Purfleet, Essex, in August and October 2017.
But before the EMSOU investigation concluded, Sheward was found in possession of 21kg of cocaine by the Metropolitan Police in June the following year. He was convicted of possession with intent to supply cocaine and money laundering and was jailed for 15-and-a-half years.
He was latterly arrested as part of the EMSOU operation and charged. On Friday, March 11, following a trial at Leicester Crown Court, both men were sentenced for their further offending.
Frederikus Dirk Huermanus Prosman, formerly of Den Haag in The Netherlands, was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to import cocaine and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to import cannabis, throughout 2017. He was jailed for 22 years.
Philip Sheward, formerly of Candover Road in Hornchurch, Havering, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine between July and October 2017, and one count of supplying cocaine between July and December 2017. His Honour Judge Brown described Sheward as an utterly remorseful drug trafficker, and jailed him for 20 years.
Detective Constable Gary Sumpter said: “Under Operation Buster we have taken out a significant organised crime group with reach across a large proportion of the country. It cannot be underestimated how many people will have been safeguarded by capping off such a major supply route of highly potent substances.
“The two men jailed today were arrested during our enquiries and were heavily involved in the importation of harmful drugs into the UK. In a 12-month period, Prosman had used his converted van to bring hundreds of kilos of cocaine and other drugs from over the Channel.
"Sheward was a valued customer and offered him the means to insert these drugs into our communities. Together, they have contributed to causing untold damage though gang violence, addiction and drug dependency-related crime.
“We’ll be using the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize any criminal gains, to ensure neither of them benefit from a single penny they made through drugs.”
