Five Mexican men have pleaded not guilty to an allegation that they were involved in a conspiracy to produce methamphetamine at a suspected drugs laboratory in the Warwickshire countryside.
The defendants appeared at Warwickshire Crown Court on Thursday to face a collective charge relating to the production of the Class A drug. They deny the allegation and are understood to have told the court they were working as a chef and builders.
The men are Alejandro Ambriz Dimas, 45, from Michoacan in southern Mexico; Victora Ramirez, 47; Fausto Beltran, 33; Lioncio Moso Borja, 37; and Jose Nunez Angolo, 44.
All except Mr Dimas are from Culiacan, in the Sinaloa region of north-west Mexico.
The National Crime Agency alleges that the group was involved in manufacturing methamphetamine at a lab on remote farmland near Furnace End, Warwickshire.
They were arrested on Thursday, August 13, before being charged and appearing at Coventry Magistrates’ Court, where they were remanded in custody.
The NCA said its operation at the rural site was supported by Warwickshire Police and the West Midlands Fire Service. West Midlands Ambulance Service was also placed on standby.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
