Gang smuggled £200m of cocaine in banana boxes

A pack has been convicted aft trying to smuggle cocaine with a thoroughfare worth of astir £200m into the UK wrong a shipment of bananas from South America.

A long-running tribunal process has ended allowing the BBC to uncover however constabulary cracked the lawsuit - believed to beryllium 1 of the biggest cause seizures ever seen successful the UK - and however undercover officers posed arsenic lorry drivers to foil the pack successful February 2021.

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

On Friday, Judge Rebecca Trowler KC adjourned sentencing to November 11.

The cocaine was intercepted by officers having arrived successful the UK from Colombia.

On the look of it, the importer Agro Food Ltd seemed similar immoderate different regular institution dealing successful the trading of effect that is grown successful different countries but consumed by British shoppers.

It had spent 5 years importing and exporting effect and vegetables, but the steadfast changed hands successful December 2020. And a antheral called Petko Zhutev, who had not agelong been successful the UK, was appointed arsenic the company's director.

Police told the BBC this lawsuit was an illustration of criminals with an ulterior motive taking implicit a well-run concern that was already established successful the importing and exporting of nutrient and little apt to arouse suspicions.

The morganatic concern gave this pack "an other furniture of protection", 1 undercover serviceman said, adding it is 1 of the caller methods gangs person been utilizing to get drugs into the UK.

In February 2021, Bulgarian nationalist Zhutev signed for an expected transportation of bananas to the company's warehouse, successful northbound London.

The 41 pallets of bananas had conscionable been shipped to Portsmouth connected a cargo vessel from Colombia and past delivered by lorries to London.

Unbeknown to Zhutev and 2 different associates - Diko and Kuci - the existent contents of the shipment had already been intercepted by the UK's Border Force and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) connected its accomplishment astatine Portsmouth.

Officers had acted connected quality and tracked the movements of 2 erstwhile shipments successful the lead-up to the seizure which officers described arsenic "dry runs".

The archetypal attempted shipment was rejected astatine Dover by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) but a 2nd shipment went done starring to the pack loading the 3rd shipment with the drugs.

Inside the containers were much than 2,330 blocks of cocaine - each weighing astir 1kg and valued astatine £30,000 per block. "This was a important seizure," John Coles, who leads the NCA's specializer operations, told the BBC.

"One of the biggest ever."

Officers had to enactment accelerated if they wanted to find those responsible, drawback them successful the enactment and "frustrate" them.

The crates containing the cocaine were replaced with dummy crates, and the cocaine replaced with existent bananas. Some of the boxes were bugged with audio devices.

Two undercover officers acting arsenic lorry drivers were past tasked with taking the load up the A3, from Portsmouth to the warehouse successful Edmonton, northbound London.

Once there, Zhutev met them and appeared to amusement helium was the antheral successful charge. He helped the drivers park, past inspected the containers and signed for them.

While he, Diko and Kuci were inside, specializer counter-terrorism firearms officers from the Metropolitan Police smashed down a doorway to the concern unit.

Of the 41 crates of banana boxes - 4 were intelligibly enactment to 1 side. Police accidental they were the dummy crates, which bore the aforesaid resemblance and barroom codes arsenic the ones that had been intercepted.

"We fundamentally watched the criminals unfastened up the peculiar parts of the consignment, wherever we knew the cocaine had been hidden and wherever we knew they thought it was," Mr Coles said. "At that constituent our officers went successful and arrested them."

Various boxes, mobile phones, bare suitcases and a loaded achromatic Turkish Ozkursan revolver were recovered arsenic officers searched 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 denied immoderate engagement and was cleared of the firearm and ammunition offences aft a proceedings astatine London's Old Bailey past summer.

Jurors failed to scope a verdict connected the drugs importation charges and a retrial took spot this summer. Zhutev changed his plea to blameworthy successful September.

Muci, who the NCA described arsenic 1 of the scheme's rule organisers, was recovered blameworthy of smuggling and supplying Class A drugs aft a proceedings which ended connected Thursday.

Ebeja - who the NCA says was the intended lookout and operator for the drugs - 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.

Judge Trowler lifted a reporting regularisation connected the verdicts aft the prosecution announced it would not question a retrial connected the outstanding charge.

Mr Coles said determination was thing to suggest the erstwhile owners of the Agro Food Ltd had immoderate cognition of the transgression activity.

He said neither Zhutev, Kuci oregon Diko had overmuch of a "footprint" successful the UK.

Mr Coles added Zhutev had been determined to smuggle cocaine into the UK and "came present specifically for that purpose", uncovering a morganatic institution to purchase.

On the look of it, helium said the institution past continued trading successful the aforesaid way, but added: "Instead, they utilized it to fell the importation of cocaine."

The authoritative said: "The Crown trust connected the absurdity that lies wrong the proposition that an organised transgression pack would manus drugs valued astatine a thoroughfare worth of £200 cardinal into the possession of a antheral who had perfectly nary thought it was owed to arrive."

Evidence work retired successful tribunal suggested Zhutev, Diko and Kuci were acceptable to walk days unpacking, repacking and distributing the drugs.

Det Supt Simon Moring, from the Met Police said the immense shipment would apt to person been chopped up and sold successful much than 2.3 cardinal deals. "That cocaine would person spilled onto the streets of London, which would person had an effect connected organised crime."

He added: "We cognize the knock-on effects - we cognize it's going to origin unit amongst organised criminals."

Last year, a United Nations report recovered planetary cocaine accumulation was reaching grounds levels.

It said: "Albanian-speaking groups person been recovered operating wholesale cocaine organisation successful galore parts of Europe, peculiarly successful the United Kingdom and the Netherlands."

Those gangs negociate cause networks crossed Europe and signifier "direct relationships with suppliers successful Latin America". It described the UK arsenic an "important destination" for cause gangs.

Mr Coles said officers were moving intimately with colleagues successful different countries, peculiarly successful South America, to effort to tackle the problem.

In caller years, officers person stopped importations of drugs which person been hidden wrong broom handles oregon disguised arsenic babe beverage oregon charcoal.

Reflecting connected these latest convictions, Mr Coles said this lawsuit was an illustration of the evolving conflict officers look to tackle the UK's cause trade.

"There's tons of antithetic ways they volition find to import drugs to the United Kingdom," Mr Coles said - noting the usage of a antecedently reputable business.

"So this is 1 model. There'll beryllium different models, and probably, present that we've dealt with this one, they'll find different mode of doing it."