DUBLIN: A member of a Birmingham-based gang behind a £125 million drugs import/export business has failed in a bid to clear his name.
Geoffrey Alan Edwards was part of a plot to import vast amounts of cannabis and cocaine from Belgium before exporting it to Ireland.
The 57-year-old, of Brandwood Crescent, Kings Norton, was jailed for 20 years at Birmingham Crown Court in November 2009. He was found guilty of conspiracy to import and export the class A and C drugs. He today launched a bid – almost seven years later – to challenge his convictions at the Court of Appeal, in London, with his lawyers arguing there was a mistrial. But his complaints were thrown out by three of the country’s top judges, who said his trial was fair and his convictions “safe”.
Edwards was one of the organisers of the gang, who recruited drivers to move drugs out of the country to Ireland.
Police discovered the plot after a warehouse manager in Brussels became suspicious about pallets making regular round-trips and alerted the authorities.
