Man jailed following £3m cocaine find at Southampton Docks
The Class A drug was discovered hidden in boxes of limes
A man has been jailed for 18 years after being involved in bringing millions of pounds' worth of cocaine into the UK via Southampton Port.
Police and Border Force officers found the Class A drug in a container which also contained hundreds of pallets of limes on December 1st, 2020.
The items, which had been brought into the country from Brazil, were found in packages hidden behind a panel in the refrigeration unit.
On Tuesday (February 8th), 31-year-old Marius Molla was found guilty by jury of conspiring to evade a prohibition on importation, following a trial at Salisbury Crown Court.
The court heard that three days later on 4 December, officers observed the delivery of the container to a fruit compound in Waltham Abbey, Essex, which had been arranged by a haulier. CCTV footage captured Molla arriving at the premises shortly after the lorry’s arrival.
He was arrested at the warehouse and police uncovered an automatic 9mm CZ type pistol along with ammunition in a Gucci bag which had been found close to him.
He was charged in connection with the offences on December 5th.
Molla was convicted of possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate at a previous trial at Southampton Crown Court which concluded on July 16th last year.
He was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment for the drug importation offence and seven years’ imprisonment for the firearm offence, which will run consecutively.
For the ammunition offence, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment concurrently, making a total sentence of 18 years’ imprisonment.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Adam Knight, from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), said:
“Molla was involved in bringing millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK which would have inevitably found its way on to our streets and caused significant harm to those whose lives are already blighted by drug addiction within the communities of the South East .
“When police officers entered the warehouse to arrest Molla, they discovered he had a prohibited firearm and ammunition next to him.
"This is a stark reminder of the lengths those involved in this level of criminality are prepared to go to avoid having their crimes uncovered.
“This attempt to conceal the drugs in a refrigeration unit inside a container of limes was foiled by SEROCU, working together with Border Force and the National Crime Agency. This collaboration undoubtedly resulted in us finding the offender and ultimately led to him being convicted for his part in this crime.”