Father and son smuggled £20m worth of heroin inside pomegranate juice
A father and son who smuggled £20million worth of heroin into Britain using pomegranate juice cartons have been spared jail.Colin Bartlett, 54, and Lee Bartlett, 30, from Birmingham, operated in an organised crime gang that imported pomegranate juice laced with heroin from Afghanistan.Detectives from the National Crime Agency - Britain's FBI - seized heroin weighing more than 420kg with a street value of £20,350,000 from a shipping container in Birmingham in May 2023.Officers arrested the father and son as they unloaded the container which had 2.6 tonnes of pomegranate juice.The heroin was concealed within the liquid and mixed with legitimate juice cartons.The father and son, from Bordesley Green, were found guilty of participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group in August 2025.They were found not guilty of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug.Colin Bartlett was sentenced to 24 months in jail, while Lee Bartlett was handed 18 months. However, both have avoided prison time as their sentences were suspended for two years.NCA branch commander Derek Evans said: 'These men were part of an organised crime group seeking to import huge quantities of heroin into the UK, potentially generating millions of pounds of criminal profit and endangering vulnerable people across the country. Colin Bartlett (pictured), 54, and Lee Bartlett, 30, from Birmingham, operated in an organised crime gang that imported pomegranate juice laced with heroin from Afghanistan Lee Bartlett (pictured) was handed 18 months, suspended for two years NCA officers seized heroin weighing more than 420kg with a street value of £20,350,000 from a shipping container in Birmingham in May 2023 The heroin was concealed within the liquid and mixed with legitimate juice cartons'Tackling class A drug trafficking is a priority for the NCA and we will continue to do all we can to stop those who try to import it.' The NCA is also hunting for two other men in connection with the investigation.Shamut Khan, 56, and Matiullah Zamankhel, 23, both from the Washwood Heath area of Birmingham, are wanted for failing to answer bail in November 2023.Mr Evans added: 'These men are known to have associations and links to the Alum Rock and Shaw Hill Road areas of Birmingham, but they may be further afield.'Khan and Zamankhel will know they are wanted by the NCA and should be absolutely certain that we won't rest until we have tracked them down.'If members of the public do see Khan and Zamankhel, we ask them to contact us straight away.'We know these men come from a close-knit community and we would like to remind anyone helping them, or frustrating our attempts to locate him, that they could also find themselves being arrested.'
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Father and son who smuggled £20million worth of heroin into Britain inside pomegranate juice cartons are spared prison
