A gang of five drug dealers who were caught importing cocaine and cannabis into the UK within consignments of fruit have been handed jail sentences totalling more than 38 years following an investigation by the Met’s Organised Crime Command.
On 13 January 2015, officers stopped Barrington Bennett shortly after he picked up a number of boxes from a freight company in Southall. When officers seized the boxes, they found bags of dried fruit and nuts labelled ‘Fancy Island Mix’. But when the contents were forensically analysed, it was found they contained two kilograms of rocks of crack cocaine that had been coloured orange to make it look like papaya.
Officers also arrested Jarnail Singh the following day after he was seen to be in convoy with Bennett and made a delivery of several other boxes at an address in Beresford Road, N5. Officers executed a search warrant at the address in Beresford Road, where they found and arrested Luis Restrepo and discovered what turned out to be 33.8kgs of herbal cannabis disguised as yams hidden in and amongst real yams in the boxes Singh delivered.
On 7 March 2015, a further shipment of 36kgs of cannabis, again disguised as yams, was seized by Border Force officers at Gatwick airport with the intended recipient for the goods being Tazio Heath at the same Southall freight company.
All men involved have pleaded guilty to the offences charged and sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court.
Source: news.met.police.uk
