Gang jailed for huge UK and Ireland drugs smuggling operation

The drugs were seized in Belfast, found in a fuel tank in the back of a van

Four men who smuggled drugs with a street value of more than £1.6m into the UK and Ireland have been jailed.

The cocaine was imported from the Netherlands into England and then across by ferry through Northern Ireland.

Seized by the National Crime Agency in February 2021, the drugs were hidden in a fuel tank in the back of a van.

Anthony Terry, 49, the head of the organised crime gang was jailed for 25 years on Friday.

Terry, from Wolverhampton, had been under surveillance in the city, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said, and on the same day the cocaine was seized at a port in Belfast he was arrested.

He was working with Michael Collis, 63, also from Wolverhampton, who acted as his driver, picking up the drugs in the Netherlands.

Two other drivers, Joshpal Singh Kothiria, 34, from Wolverhampton, and Mohammed Omar Khan, 39, from Birmingham, were used to supply the drugs to customers in the UK or export them to the Republic of Ireland.

Anthony Terry was described by the National Crime Agency as the head of the organised crime group

The group used encrypted messaging service Encrochat to communicate.

The software was cracked by the NCA and other agencies in June 2020, allowing investigators to tie the gang to further instances of drugs smuggling, suggesting the operation was even larger than the £1.6m haul seized in Belfast.

Conversations on Encrochat revealed Collis had collected 17.5kg of cocaine for Terry from the Netherlands in April 2020.

From there, the drugs were divided up and, while Khan made deliveries to Luton and Slough, Collis travelled to the Republic of Ireland to hand over the remaining amount in County Wicklow.

Common Travel Area

At the same time, Terry sent Kothiria to East London to collect 10kg of cannabis and a vacuum packing machine, the NCA said.

Kothiria brought these back to the West Midlands where the cannabis was packed before he took it to County Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland.

A couple of weeks later, Collis picked up 18kg of cocaine in the Netherlands, going on to deliver some to dealers in the UK before taking the rest to Ireland.

The final drug run captured on Encrochat was between 26 May and 3 June 2020, the NCA said, and saw Terry discuss a cannabis delivery.

Kothiria was sent to pick up the load from Leicestershire and take it to the Republic of Ireland.

The drugs were transported to Northern Ireland by ferry before being driven across the country to be dropped off in the Republic of Ireland.

The NCA said the group had taken advantage of the Common Travel Area between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

However, NCA officers worked closely with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána in the Republic to track Kothiria's movements.

The Belfast haul allowed investigators to go through the gang's phones and trace other deliveries

Investigators established that Collis had travelled to the Hook of Holland again in July and September 2020 before returning to England and travelling onward to Belfast.

He then distributed the drugs in Limerick in the Republic of Ireland.

NCA Branch Commander Mick Pope said: "These criminals were determined to smuggle drugs into the UK and onwards to the Republic of Ireland. They did not care about the geography of their crimes when in pursuit of pure profit."

The four men were sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday:

• Terry, of Crawford Road Wolverhampton, was already serving 18 years for the cocaine seized in Belfast in 2021, and was told his 25-year sentence would run concurrent to that jail term after admitting importation of cocaine, conspiracy to supply a class A drug and three counts of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad.

• Collis, also of Crawford Road, Wolverhampton, was jailed for 12 years and six months after being convicted on charges of importation of cocaine and conspiracy to commit a crime abroad.

• Mohammed Omar Khan, of Chartist Road, Washwood Heath, Birmingham, was convicted of conspiracy to supply a controlled class A drug and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

• Joshpal Singh Kothiria, from Bader Road, Perton, Wolverhampton, was convicted of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad and sentenced to three years.