A PENSIONER convicted for his part in smuggling £50m of cannabis into the UK has avoided a jail sentence.
Barry Haydon, from Oxford Road, Burford, was found guilty at Isleworth Crown Court last month of conspiracy to import the controlled drug.
He was accused alongside 26-year-old Ivan Marshall, from Queen Street, Eynsham, and two other gang members.
On Friday, a judge gave the 68-year-old a 12-month suspended sentence.
The smuggling plot was uncovered when the UK Border Agency found 645 kilos of cannabis, worth £2m, hidden inside a lorry at Harwich Docks, Essex, in March last year.
Cannabis had been concealed inside boxes of used clothing sent from Holland.
Investigators then learned that the gang had used a textile business to import about 30 other loads into the UK in 2009 and early last year.
Marshall was sentenced to nine years for his part in the operation last month.
UK Border Agency assistant director Peter Avery said: “This was a sophisticated network, with the ability to transport large amounts of cannabis across international borders and cover their tracks.”
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