Man accused of being drugs courier thought he was carrying 'materials'
A courier van driver accused of taking part in drugs conspiracy has told a jury he did not know what items he was transporting.
Joshpal Singh Kothiria, of Bader Road, Perton, near Wolverhampton, is accused of an offence of conspiracy to commit crime abroad relating to the export of cannabis.
The jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court has heard that the conspiracy came to light after the European police forces unscrambled hundreds of encrypted messages between Antony Terry, 48, from Wolverhampton, and his contacts on the Encrochat network.
Giving evidence on Thursday, Kothiria, 33, said he made trips between April 1 and June 25, 2020, and some were to Ireland. He said he had been asked to do so by windscreen repairman Terry, whom he met some years prior when he fixed his smashed van window. He said he had also been asked to make ferry trips by another Wolverhampton man called Michael Collis.
Kothiria said he collected items in east London on April 5 on Terry's instructions.
He said that on arrival he reversed the vehicle and two males opened the back doors and loaded it.
"After the van was loaded I rang my customer, Mr Terry, and gave him my ETA (estimated time of arrival)," the defendant said.
"I was instructed to take it to his windscreen company. I arrived back in Wolverhampton just after 10pm. I rang my customer and told them I was 10-15 minutes from the unit. He goes, 'Can you drop it at my house?'
"I did drop it at his house, but I don't know where in Wolverhampton the house was.
Kothiria said that the following day Terry asked him to deliver three pallets to Ireland with a postcode-only delivery point. He said was under the impression he was taking "materials".
His defence barrister Mr Richard Butcher put to him: "Didn't that cause you concern about meeting another vehicle and no names?"
Kothiria replied: "Customers sometimes do that and change arrangements en route."
Kothiria and Mohammed Omar Khan, 38, of Chartist Road, Washwood Heath, Birmingham, who is accused of an offence of conspiracy to supply cocaine, both deny the allegations.
Terry, 48, and Collis, 62, both of Crawford Road, Merridale, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy offences and will be sentenced at a later date.
The trial continues.
