An illegal Chinese immigrant accused of smuggling drugs into Failsworth has told a jury he thought he was helping with a delivery of tobacco.

Shan Gao took to the stand at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday to give evidence in his trial over charges of dealing with goods of fraudulent intent and possessing cannabis with intent to supply to another.

The 54-year-old has pleaded not guilty to both counts and insisted his immigration status meant he would often do 'odd jobs' to survive but had no idea he was collecting drugs.

The trial opened on Wednesday and the court heard that on July 15, an airfreight consignment arrived at Heathrow Airport and was found to contain eight boxes filled with 500 grams of cannabis in plastic packages.

Fragranced tumble dryer sheets, thought to be used to disguise the smell, were at the top and bottom of each box.

Then on July 21, another consignment was delivered to Heathrow destined for 42, Victory Park, Mill Street, Failsworth.

The consignment again contained boxes of cannabis, this time weighing 155kg, and tumble dryer sheets.

The consignment was restored to its original appearance and sent to the Failsworth unit.

On July 23 the package was delivered, and CCTV footage shown to the court, shows Shan Gao waiting for the packages in a black Volkswagen Passat and later helping to remove them from the truck.

Just after 5pm that day police went to a car park next to a block of flats named Lakeside Rise in Blackley, Manchester where they found Shan next to a black Volkswagen Passat and arrested him.

Police searched Shan and found keys for the unit and for a flat within the Lakeside Rise complex.

Police searched the flat and found 33kgs of cannabis bush and three toothbrushes including one with Shan’s DNA on it.

Shan told the court he arrived in the UK illegally and that he lives on Moss Lane, East Manchester with his wife.

The couple are both illegal immigrants.

Shan said he only lived in the flat for four weeks from mid-January to mid-February 2020 to isolate from his wife who had caught Covid.

He said his friend of more than three years, who he referred to as Mr Wen, allowed him to live there and gave him free medicine for his wife.

Shan described Mr Wen as the ‘chairman of the Chinese community’ who offers help to illegal immigrants in the UK and ‘helped him survive’ in the country.

Mr Wen reportedly gave Shan ‘odd jobs’ including decorating jobs and work in takeaways.

Shan told the court that Mr Wen said he would introduce him to more jobs if he helped with the collection of the delivery on July 23.

Shan said Mr Wen told him that the package contained tobacco which he believed.

On delivery, Shan noticed that there were holes in the wrapping on the outside of the packages. He then opened one of the packages and saw there were two cameras inside.

He sent photos of the packages to Mr Wen and called him.

Mr Wen reportedly told him to ‘leave’ the packages, ‘don’t ask questions’ and ‘run away’.

He told Shan not to go to his home address as it was ‘dangerous’ but to go to the flat’s car park in a taxi where one of his men would collect the keys for the unit from him.

Shan told the court he was ‘too tired’ to run away and did not want to ‘run away anymore’ having previously been arrested by immigration officers who had then reportedly released him.

He added that Mr Wen had not given him any money to run away and that he had parents and children in China that he had to support.

Shan went to the car park in his car, the black Volkswagen Passat, as a taxi was ‘too expensive’ and was arrested by the police.

Officers searched Shan’s car and found vacuum pack bags that matched those found in Unit 42 and the flat.

When asked about the bags Shan said he had got them from a friend who was doing decorative jobs.