Gang jailed over £200m of cocaine in banana boxes

A pack has been jailed aft trying to smuggle cocaine with a thoroughfare worth of astir £200m successful a cargo of bananas from Colombia.

The shipment - believed to beryllium 1 of the biggest cause seizures ever seen successful the UK - was intercepted astatine Portsmouth Port successful February 2021.

Undercover officers posed arsenic lorry drivers to instrumentality dummy crates to a warehouse successful northbound London.

Petko Zhutev, Ghergii Diko and Bruno Kuci pleaded blameworthy to smuggling, portion Erik Muci and Olsi Ebeja were recovered blameworthy of their engagement pursuing a proceedings astatine the Old Bailey.

The bananas were imported by Agro Food Ltd, which had traded successful caller nutrient for 5 years earlier changing hands successful December 2020 and appointing Zhutev arsenic director.

The Bulgarian nationalist had travel to the UK to find a morganatic institution to acquisition arsenic a screen for cause smuggling, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

He received the shipment astatine the firm's Edmonton warehouse, not knowing that the cocaine had been removed and replaced with bananas and listening devices, constabulary said.

When equipped constabulary raided the unit, they recovered the dummy crates had been acceptable to 1 broadside and immoderate of the boxes opened.

Police besides recovered a loaded achromatic Turkish Ozkursan revolver successful the warehouse.

Zhutev, Diko and Kuci were each arrested and subsequently charged with importing Class A drugs, arsenic good arsenic possessing a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Diko and Kuci pleaded blameworthy to the charges, but Zhutev was cleared of the firearm and ammunition offences aft a proceedings successful 2023.

Jurors failed to scope a verdict connected the drugs importation charges and a retrial took spot this summer.

Kuci, described arsenic a "trusted subordinate of the operation", was jailed for 21 years and Diko, who besides moved to the UK from Albania and had worked arsenic a mechanic, for 18 years.

Zhutev changed his plea to blameworthy successful September and has present been sentenced to 27 years successful prison.

Muci, who the NCA described arsenic 1 of the scheme's rule organisers, was recovered blameworthy of smuggling and jailed for 26 years. He received a further consecutive condemnation of 7 years for supplying Class A drugs.

Ebeja, who the NCA said was the intended lookout and driver, was recovered blameworthy of smuggling Class A drugs astatine the aforesaid trial, but the assemblage failed to scope a verdict connected the complaint of supplying them. He was sentenced to 17 years down bars.

Sentencing them earlier, Judge Rebecca Trowler KC said the importation had been "plainly the enactment of an organised transgression radical with planetary elements".

The CPS said it would commencement proceedings to reclaim the wealth made from the crimes.