East Sussex man jailed for role in £10m cocaine operation
Police discovered more than 100kg of the class A drug in the West Midlands
Last updated 6th Nov 2024
An East Sussex man has been jailed for more than 13 years for his role in one of the largest discoveries of cocaine in the UK this year.
Benjamin Holt from Horam was found in the driver's seat of a car involved in an operation to transfer more than 100kg of the Class A drug, with a street value of more than £10 million, in the West Midlands.
Staffordshire Police made the find after spotting a meeting between two men on Allman Road in Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, on April 10th.
These men were Adam Vorster, 41, of no fixed address, and Mohamoud Mahamoud, 29, of West Drayton, Greater London.
Officers discovered 21 kilogramme blocks of cocaine in a black holdall bag being carried by one of the men, along with two further bags which contained 81 kilogram blocks of cocaine.
The estimated wholesale value of the drugs is believed to be between £2,346,000 and £3,570,000, with a street value up to £10,200,000.
The amount of drugs seized suggests the trio were involved in one of the top-end cocaine supplies operating across the UK.
43-year-old Holt, a dog breeder, was given a 13 year and two month sentence at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (November 1st) after admitting conspiracy to supply a Class A drug.
Vorster was given a sentence of nine years and three months after he admitted the same offence.
Mahamoud was jailed for seven years and six months after he pleaded guilty to the same offence.
A Staffordshire Police spokesperson said:
"Activity like this is continuing each and every day across Staffordshire and neighbouring forces to target organised criminals who commit high-harm offences in our communities, including county lines drug distribution, illegal firearms activity, modern slavery, and cyber-crime."