Gang hid cocaine in Gouda cheese wheels, 15 men jailed at Leeds Crown Court

How the cheese route worked

Police say the network brought cocaine into Britain hidden inside wheels of Gouda, moving the cheese as commercial freight through the port of Dover between December 2022 and April 2023. The consignments then went to a legitimate distribution hub in Derby. From there, refrigerated lorries carried shrink-wrapped pallets to industrial units in Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Halifax and Blackburn. Workers at those units cut the cocaine out of the cheese and repacked it into cardboard boxes and black bin liners. Couriers working across the Midlands, Lancashire and the North East then collected the consignments for sale. The Telegraph reported that each block of Gouda contained two 'bricks' of Class A drugs.

Discovery and a shift in tactics

The inquiry began in January 2023, when police in Leeds found £2m of cocaine and ecstasy in a car stopped in the East End Park area. Two members of the distribution ring were arrested in May and July 2023. Afterwards, investigators saw the gang change its methods, with collections moved to motorway service stations and chocolate spread and frozen fish mince used to conceal the drugs. Craig Goulding, who had earlier been jailed for 25 years, was paid 'thousands' to dispose of waste food from the operation, police said. West Yorkshire Police described the network as the 'largest criminal enterprise' it had dismantled.

Scale and disputed figures

Estimates of the amount involved differ between sources. The Telegraph cited £450m, Mediafax reported more than 530 million euros, and the BBC said the gang distributed up to £1.4bn. A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson estimated between four and 14 tonnes, with a street value between £400m and £1.4bn. Police said the gang had moved more than 4.5 tonnes across the north of England in about 18 months. The exact quantity distributed is unknown, according to the BBC.

Court proceedings

The case was heard in two separate trials that began in 2025, and reporting restrictions stayed in place until both were concluded. Judge Christopher Batty, sentencing at Leeds Crown Court, said those involved were responsible for distributing very large sums of cocaine. Sources give different counts of those convicted: the BBC reports that fifteen men were jailed, while Mediafax, citing The Independent, puts the total number of people convicted across both trials at 18. Mediafax also reported that three more people were jailed on Friday, 30 October, after four others were sentenced earlier that week.

Police view

Detective Inspector Kevin Daly said organised crime groups are 'very ingenious' when it comes to finding ways to hide drugs. Police said the investigation uncovered a sophisticated conspiracy that had imported cocaine from South America via Europe.