Luke French, of Moat Lane in Birmingham, appeared at Inner London Crown Court on October 28 and was sentenced to two years and eight months behind bars for his part in the incident at the Hilton London Watford Hotel in Elton Way on April 4. The 35-year-old was one of three men charged after being arrested with large amounts of the class B drug and around £5,000 in cash. Pictures show suitcases packed with the hybrid Californian cannabis.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of the hotel. French pleaded guilty on May 29 to importing cannabis into the UK, but his sentencing was adjourned until earlier this week, having been scheduled for September. At that September hearing, co-conspirator Roberto Martinez, of Huntingdon Park in California, was jailed for two years.
The 33-year-old American had previously admitted to the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of class B drugs. Martinez had also denied possession of cannabis with intent to supply, but the Crown Prosecution Service chose not to pursue this charge. The third suspect in the case avoided jail after being found not guilty on three of the four counts she faced.
Joanne Parkes, of Benedon Road in Birmingham, pleaded guilty to possession of a class A drug, namely cocaine, but denied importation of cannabis, possession of the class B drug with intent to supply, and possession of criminal property, namely the £5,000 in cash. She was cleared of three charges and sentenced only for the class.