A 49-year-old man from Torquay, Devon, was sentenced to five years in prison on 9 February 2026 for his part in a plan to smuggle around £7 million worth of cannabis into South Devon. Leon Day admitted a central role in a scheme that concealed more than 700kg of the Class B drug in multiple shipments from Singapore.
Devon and Cornwall Police and UK Border Force say the drugs were hidden inside pallets of adult incontinence pads, latex gloves, car seats and stacked timber. Officers established that the shipments were destined for a business registered to Day — Newton Vehicle Repair Centre Ltd — at an industrial unit in Ipplepen, which was being used as a delivery point.
UK Border Force intercepted the first shipment at Stansted in July 2025 (around 40kg). A further container was seized at Gatwick in October 2025 (about 270kg), and a third was intercepted in November 2025 (about 400kg). In total more than 700kg of cannabis, with an estimated street value of around £7 million, was recovered and has since been destroyed. Day, previously of Warren Road, Torquay, had leased the unit despite not being a mechanic by trade.
Detective Chief Inspector Becky Davies, of the South Devon Proactive Unit, welcomed the sentence and said: “Day would have carried out a significant amount of planning to facilitate the importation and delivery of these drugs. The impact of drugs supply and use within communities has a significant impact and causes so much hidden harm.” Police say the conviction is part of continuing work with partner agencies to disrupt organised importation and distribution networks and that the force will continue community reassurance activity in the area.
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