Gang who smuggled millions of pounds of cocaine into UK jailed
Ten men were handed jail sentences totalling 80 years
A group of drug smugglers who illegally imported millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the country have been given jail sentences.
The gang, all of whom were from the West Midlands, had managed to import narcotics and illegal cash into the UK and distribute it across the country.
A total of 400 kilograms of drugs were found in hidden compartments of a fleet of vans that been used to transport raw chicken.
As well as this, officers discovered a total of ÂŁ1.6 million in illegal cash that been found stashed in the vans, as the operation - which involved ten people was dismantled.
Some of the hidden compartments of the vans included the tyres, which were used to house some of the illegal cash that was brought into the country.
In total, another 225 kilograms of cocaine had been discovered at a warehouse in Sutton Coldfield that was due to be shipped to Australia.
In order to maintain secrecy over their drug operation, the ten members communicated through the Encrochat service, which digitally encrypts messages that had been shut down by UK officers.
The messages found by police found that as much as one tonne of cocaine and ÂŁ10 million had been transported through customs across the country.
All ten men were eventually tracked down and arrested over the course of a ten day period in July of 2020 across a number of cities including Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Walsall, South Staffordshire and London.
Speaking on the case, Detective Chief Inspector Pete Cooke from West Midlands Police said: "This far-reaching investigation covered the importation, exportation and wholesale national supply of cocaine and money laundering.
"We were able to expose the gangs' activities which were both sophisticated and on a commercial scale, with them using a network of highly trusted individuals and a fleet of vehicles with hidden compartments.
"We believe they were responsible for importing hundreds of kilos of cocaine, estimated to be over a tonne resulting in them making huge sums of cash, thought to be over ÂŁ10m.
"But all this enterprise was illegal and was putting large quantities of drugs, which we know destroy many lives and blight many communities, on to streets both here in the UK and overseas.
"Our teams were able to trace the activity, identify the criminals and ultimately put them behind bars with considerable jail terms."
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