Henry Blaxland QC and Alex Rose of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team represented one of the defendants, Mr Pattani, instructed by Greg Powell of Powell Spencer Solicitors.
Mr Pattani was found not guilty of conspiracy to import heroin and cocaine after 10 weeks on trial at Leicester Crown Court. He had a small family run freight forwarding business, which had been used as cover for importing the Class A drugs.
His case was that the man behind the importations and controlling the drug supply line had manipulated him and he had no knowledge of the contents of the imported packages. One of the other main defendants alleged that Mr Pattani had framed him, but the jury acquitted Mr Pattani and convicted the co-defendants responsible for the importation and onward supply of drugs.
The case illustrated the critical need for the defence to obtain and examine all of the digital devices seized in an investigation of this size, and was a classic example of how those in the freight forwarding business can have their trust and good nature abused by ruthless drug traffickers.
This case has been covered in the media, including the Leicester Mercury.
