![]() ![]() "Had everyone involved in this criminal activity been successful, millions of pounds worth of drugs could have ended up on the streets of UK towns and cities causing public harm. “These drugs were intended to be put into the hands of other crime groups. “This was a sophisticated criminal operation and the amount of drugs this gang was attempting to import into the country was colossal. Tim Burton, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: He was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine, and was jailed for 27 years. He had planned to move the cocaine that was due to have been brought into Portsmouth from Colombia via Holland. He was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine, and was jailed for 12 years. He was jailed for 15 years.Ĭonnor Fletcher, aged 25, of Bridgnorth Road, Wolverhampton, drove an HGV into Dover from Calais containing 60 kg of cocaine concealed within two hides. He has been found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and not guilty of importing cocaine. James Jenkins, aged 25, of Lichfield Street, Tamworth – a supervisor for the operation. He admitted four charges of conspiracy to import and supply drugs – cocaine, heroin and ketamine, and was jailed for 23 years and six months. Jonathan Arnold, aged 30, of Cremorne Road, Sutton Coldfield – head of the group – An importer of drugs and someone who arranged importation of the drugs. Bottom left: Jenkins, right: Sadiq Credit: West Midlands Police He returned with 60kg of cocaine hidden in two secret compartments built into the floor of the lorry.īy this point, the police investigation had linked him to the gang and so officer asked Border Force to intercept him on his return and he was arrested. The ship was allowed to continue its journey into Portsmouth, after the drugs had been removed.Īnd in June 2022, another of the gang’s drivers, Connor Fletcher, travelled to a town near Amsterdam for an overnight trip. The drugs, hidden among bananas, were seized by Dutch police officers on a ship which had travelled from Colombia to Vlissingen in the Netherlands. The biggest single seizure came in April last year, when the gang tried to bring 1,477kg of cocaine with a street value of around £118m into Portsmouth. The drugs had a UK wholesale value of £2,561,900. The gang’s downfall started in January last year when one of their couriers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made a drug run to Europe in a Real Estate Removals van.īut his van was searched by French Customs’ officers who found 63 blocks of cocaine weighing 71kg along with 99 bags of ketamine weighing 101kg. Police officers from the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia forces working in the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) dismantled the gang’s operations. “As the head of the crime group, Jonathan Arnold enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, driving luxury cars and enjoying trips to Dubai.Ī van showing the logo of the removal company Credit: West Midlands Police “The gang was operating at the highest levels of criminality, bringing in industrial quantities of drugs to sell on the streets of the West Midlands and beyond. "This is the biggest drugs case that we have ever dealt with as an organisation. “We can’t underestimate the scale and significance of this criminal organisation. Jenny Skyrme, head of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: ![]() West Midlands Police said the importation equated to at least £135m worth of drugs.įour men have now been jailed for a combined total of 77 years and six months for their part in the drugs gang.ĭet. They would use dummy loads of furniture to hide packages of drugs in lorries and vans, some of which had hidden compartments to conceal the shipments. The gang he led brought nearly two tonnes of cocaine, heroin and ketamine into the country. Jonathan Arnold from Sutton Coldfield, enjoyed a life of luxury on the back of his drugs-importation empire - enjoying trips to Dubai where he would film himself driving a Ferrari. The ringleader of a West Midlands crime gang which brought millions of pounds worth of drugs into the UK using a fake furniture removal company as a front, has been jailed for more than 23 years. ![]()
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