A gang of Essex wideboys have had their £70m cannabis smuggling operation smashed and now face lengthy jail time after being found guilty at Southwark Crown Court.

12 men snuck the highly potent 'skunk' in boxes of flowers from Holland and stored in lock-up garages in Kingston, Worcester Park, Epsom and Ashtead,

At the peak of their operation, the gang was bringing in 250kg of drugs every week, enough for 225,000 street deals.

Kingpin Terrence Bowler, 40, of Kingston, plead guilty to conspiracy to import controlled drugs and laundering the proceeds of crime.

Peter Moran, 37, of Fulham, west London, and Mark Kinnimont, 40, of Surbiton, south-west London, along with Bowler, formed the so-called 'board of directors’ of the operation.

Profits were laundered through a bureau de change in east London to launder profits but police got wise to the operation after intercepting £750,000 consignment in July 2008 forcing the gang to 'change up' - it was their shift in tactics that allowed a 14-month investigation to crack the case.

So much money, it rotted

The gang, who kept no records of any transactions, ended up with so much cash they forgot £60,000, which went mouldy in an underground safe in a garage in Kingston.

Police believe much of the laundered money was wired to accounts in Pakistan and Dubai.

Det Ch Insp Steve Wallace said the gang had "cornered the market" for skunk in England and were making "grotesque profits" and enjoyed lavish lifestyles.

He said:

"So much cash was generated by the venture that during our searches we found cash rotting away.

In the floor of one premises was a safe containing £225,000, of which £60,000 was going mouldy.

There was so much cash lying around that they did not know what to do with it. We took the ruined money to the Bank of England as it was no good to anybody."

Other 'bagmen'

Liam Salter, 39, of Tadworth, Surrey, David Couchman, 38, of Southwark, south London, and Timothy Sullivan, 38, of Epsom, Surrey, formed the next tier in the hierarchy. All three pleaded guilty to the same charges as the ringleader.

Asim Bashir, 35, of Ilford, was found guilty of money laundering, while driver James Hay, 31, of Ashtead, was convicted of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs.

Roger Alexander, 44, of High Wycombe, Peter Brown, 37, of Kingston, and Barrie Burn, 59, of Hinton Road, Bristol, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs.

Another driver for the gang, Andrew West, 36, of Tadworth, also admitted money laundering.

Mandy Cripps, 34, and Peter Gilmour, 36, both from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Richard Seville, 42, of Islington, north London, and Lindsay Graham, 42, of Sutton, south London, were cleared of any involvement with the gang.

All those found guilty will be sentenced later this month.