Five men deny operating rural meth lab

Five men have denied conspiring to operate a meth lab from remote farmland in Warwickshire.

It is alleged the men were part of a crime group manufacturing the class A drug methamphetamine near the hamlet of Furnace End.

Judge Rhona Campbell was told by defence barristers at the hearing at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday that all five defendants denied any knowledge of drugs production, with one claiming to be a chef and another to have been involved in construction work.

The case was adjourned, with a trial set for the same court on 15 February. All five men remain remanded in custody.

The accused include Alejandro Ambriz Dimas, 45; Victora Ramirez, 47; Fausto Beltran, 33; Lioncio Moso Borja, 37; and Jose Nunez Angolo, 44.

The National Crime Agency said that all the men were from Culiacan, in the Sinaloa region of northwest Mexico, except for Dima, from Michoacan in southern Mexico.

The defendants are alleged to have conspired "together and with others" to produce methamphetamine on dates between 6 February and 14 August this year.

Appearing in custody on Thursday, the five spoke to confirm their identities and to plead not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine.

Ambriz pleaded not guilty in English, a language in which he was said to be proficient.

The remaining defendants were assisted in entering pleas by two Spanish interpreters.

Five dock officers were present alongside the men as they entered their pleas.

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