The Cessna flown by Andrew Wright.
Picture: National Crime Agency
A Cessna P210N Pressurized Centurion aircraft used in a foiled attempt to smuggle £33.5m worth of cocaine into the country via a North Yorkshire airfield is being put up for auction later this month.
Andrew Wright, who took his nickname from the fictional aviator Biggles, used the Cessna P210N Pressurized Centurion aircraft to import some 268 kilos of the Class A drug in eight trips from Breighton Airfield in Selby to Germany and back over three months.
Wright’s drug smuggling ring was smashed in November 2014 after Wright touched down in Selby with his latest consignment and a border officer searching his Porsche Cayenne discovered four bricks of cocaine.
Andrew Wright
The aircraft was confiscated and after being dismantled for search and storage purposes was delivered to Wilsons Auctions, who will be putting it under the hammer on March 31.
Auctioneers say the plane is a “high wing, single engine, six-seat, high performance, general aviation aircraft”.
It is one of only seven Cessna 210 aircraft on the UK and Irish register, but no estimate has been given for its value.
Andrew Wright was jailed last month for 19 years for his part in the drug smuggling conspiracy. The 52-year-old, along with the plot’s mastermind Mark Dowling, 43, and his trusted lieutenant Jamie Williams, 38, were handed stiff deterrent jail sentences at the Old Bailey.
Judge Nicholas Cooke QC told them the amount they smuggled was “off the scale” and of “exceptional seriousness”.
“Big fish” Dowling was handed 24 years in jail and his right hand man Williams received 23 years.
Wright, who owned two Cessna light aircraft, used his aerial photography business Skyviews R Us Ltd as a cover for his illegal activities.
Original article can be found here: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
http://registry.faa.gov/N55EU
No comments:
Post a Comment