A gang of drug dealers who smuggled half a ton of cocaine worth up to £17 million into Britain have been convicted.
The group, who brought in cocaine from the Netherlands to distribute throughout London, were found hiding out at a holiday let in Norfolk.
Kingston Crown Court heard that millions of pounds of cocaine were distributed by lorries across London.
Lorries would stop outside the capital, and the drugs would be collected and then be sent to ‘retail suppliers’ on a weekly basis.
A holiday let was booked in Marsham, near Norwich on July 16, 2024, and the following day a van was seen outside the address.
The van, driven by Justyn Morris, 23, then travelled to an industrial estate in the city, where he met Bert De Jong, 59, in a lorry who have him three cardboard boxes.
Morris, who the drove back to the holiday let, was then intercepted by officers who had seen a suspected handover.
Officers then searched the van and the three boxes were found hidden behind black cladding.
A total of 70kg worth of cocaine was found – worth between £1.75million and £2.45million.
Hussain Sakhi, 22, and Zaibaa Zahur, 21, arrived at the holiday let later that day, to ‘view’ it but officers arrived on the scene and searched the pair.
A phone showed messages between Sakhi and an unidentified contact, who Morris had also been in contact with.
De Jong, of the Netherlands, Sakhi, 22, of Laughton Road, Northolt and Zahur, of Harlington Road, Uxbridge were convicted of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of cocaine and conspiracy to supply cocaine, following a four-week trial on Monday, April 7.
Sakhi and Zahur were also found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
While Morris, of Upper Lees Road, Slough, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, March 11, to conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of cocaine and conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Drug ledgers they kept as a record of the movement and distribution of the cocaine were examined during the trial and established the group had moved nearly 500kg.
De Jong would bring the drugs into the country from the Netherlands and Morris would pick them up and pass them to Sakhi and Zahur, who would then distribute them.
On July 23, 2024, De Jong, when entering the country again, was arrested but claimed he had no knowledge of what he was bringing into the country.
However, evidence suggested on his phone that he would send ‘tokens’ to his counterparts, implying the drugs had been delivered. He was charged on the same day.
Detective Constable Leon Ure, of the Met’s Specialist Crime South team who led the investigation, said:
‘This has been a complex and lengthy investigation to dismantle a group supplying drugs across London. It has been part of a wider, proactive drug operation led by the Specialist Crime South team.
‘This investigation shows the breadth of work the specialist crime unit deals with and I’d like to thank every officer who was involved in the case.
‘Drug dealing has a huge impact on Londoners. It fuels further crime and impacts the heart of our communities. This group is an example of how we will investigate and hold offenders to account.’
They are due to be sentenced on Friday, 11 April at Kingston Crown Court.