Two men have been jailed for smuggling 28 tonnes of cannabis into the UK - enough to get every person in the country stoned . Steven McDonald , 32 , and John Wright , 66 , were part of a crime network that trafficked drugs from the Netherlands on an 'industrial scale ' . The cannabis they imported as part of the seven-year conspiracy would have had a street value in excess of £80million . Smugglers : Steven McDonald , 32 , left , and John Wright , 66 , right , were part of a crime network that trafficked drugs into the country on an 'industrial scale ' . They both admitted to drugs charges and were jailed on Friday . Delivery : The pair were caught when Border Force officers at Harwich International Port , Essex , intercepted a 300kg haul of cannabis ( pictured ) - worth roughly £1million - that had been hidden in boxes of ceramic tiles . The pair were caught when Border Force officers at Harwich International Port , Essex , intercepted a 300kg haul of cannabis - worth roughly £1million - that had been hidden in boxes of ceramic tiles . They replaced the drugs , which had been packed in concealed compartments , with a dummy load . An undercover police officer then drove the lorry to an address in Whetstone , London . There , McDonald loaded the drugs into a waiting van as Wright kept watch , the court was told . McDonald , from Chatham , Kent , and Wright , from Hounslow , north London , were arrested after they were seen unloading the delivery at an address in Wembley , London . Raids on their homes led police to recover drug-dealing ledgers and evidence of at least 20 trips to the Netherlands by the pair . The two men admitted conspiring to import class B drugs at a hearing at Luton Crown Court last October . Wright was sentenced on Friday to nine years and four months and McDonald was handed an eight-year sentence . 'Industrial scale ' : The cannabis McDonald and Wright imported as part of the seven-year conspiracy would have had a street value in excess of £80million . Above , the cannabis confiscated by police . Confiscated : Raids on the smugglers ' homes led police to recover drug-dealing ledgers and evidence of at least 20 trips to the Netherlands by the pair . Above , some of the cannabis load seized by police . Both will also be banned from travelling outside the UK for ten years after their release . Detective Inspector Steve Miles said : 'These men were involved in drug smuggling on a truly industrial scale over a number of years . 'The potential street value of the cannabis imported as part of this conspiracy would have been in excess of £80 million . 'Using their contacts with criminal networks in the Netherlands they were able to set up elaborate fronts to cover their activities . 'But through our close work with the Dutch authorities and Border Force we were able to unpick that , and disrupt and then dismantle a very significant organised crime group responsible for bringing thousands of kilos of illegal drugs into the UK . '
Steven McDonald and John Wright were part of 'industrial ' crime network . Imported cannabis from Netherlands as part of seven-year conspiracy . Were caught when officers intercepted ££80 million drugs haul at Essex port . The pair admitted to drugs charges and were handed prison sentences .