A drug gang smuggled more than 100 kilos of high purity cocaine worth £10 million through Heathrow Airport with the help of bent baggage handlers.
Suitcases full of drugs were smuggled through Terminal 5 having arrived on flights from Brazil.
National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators intercepted a total of six consignments of cocaine, with a purity of up to 77 per cent and one bag of cannabis, but more would have got onto the streets of Britain.
Preetam Mungrah, 43, (left) and 30-year-old Wilfred Owusu (right) were found guilty by a jury at Kingston Crown Court yesterday for their part in the large drugs conspiracy
Corrupt baggage handlers would transfer the bags of drugs from an international flight from Brazil onto the domestic reclaim belt.
A courier arriving at Heathrow on an internal flight would then take the bag off the domestic belt and pass through a lower level of security for domestic passengers.
Preetam Mungrah, 43, and 30-year-old Wilfred Owusu were found guilty by a jury at Kingston Crown Court yesterday for their part in the large drugs conspiracy following a six week trial.
Heathrow baggage handler Joysen Jhurry, 40, had already pleaded guilty to his involvement in smuggling plot.
Some of the seizures made by Border Force officers. In total cocaine weighing more than 100 kilos and cannabis weighing around 50 kilos was seized
Heathrow baggage handler Joysen Jhurry, 40, had already pleaded guilty to his involvement in smuggling plot
Two couriers Danovan Bull, 45, (left) and Moses Awopetu, 38, (right) were arrested on arrival and would later plead guilty to importing class A drugs
Timothy Probert-Wood, prosecuting, said: ‘The allegation is relatively straight forward and it involves these two defendants involved in a conspiracy with others to smuggle very large amounts of very pure and very valuable cocaine into this country through corrupt baggage handlers at Heathrow Terminal 5.’
Describing how the plot worked, the prosecutor said: ‘It is in fact beautiful in its simplicity. It was simple method known to the authorities and rip on/rip off.’
The court heard that every week BA248 from Rio de Janeiro would arrive at Terminal 5 at about 1pm on the same day each week day, with the cocaine on it.
It was airside after security at Rio’s international airport that the bag containing the drugs would be loaded onto a luggage crate for the UK bound flight.
Someone in Brazil would also note to what the bag looks like and inform the smugglers in the UK.
Baggage handler Jhurry would the search for the bag on the Tarmac at Heathrow and move it over it from the international arrivals carousel onto the domestic arrivals carousel.
National Crime Agency surveillance showing Joysen Jhurry and Damion Goodhall
National Crime Agency surveillance showing Joysen Jhurry and Damion Goodhall
A courier who had arrived at Heathrow on a domestic flight and been told which bag contained the drugs, would then pick it from the internal arrivals carousel and leave through the lower level security.
The prosecutor said: ‘In any case it worked beautifully and we only know about this conspiracy when it went wrong, when a bag was intercepted.’
Six bags contains drugs were seized following the arrival of flights from Brazil from November 2015 and November 2016, with more than £100kg seized in total.
The wholesale value of 1kg of high quality cocaine is about £30,000, which is tripled for the street value, making the total seized worth more than £9million.
NCA regional head of investigations Brendan Foreman said: ‘This was a sophisticated plot and at the centre of it was a man who used his privileged access to Heathrow and insider knowledge of the airport’s systems for criminal purposes.
‘This kind of corruption threatens the security of the UK border and the public at large which is why the NCA and its partners are tackling it as a priority.
‘Working with Border Force, Airport authorities and the airline community we were able to stop this organised crime group in its tracks and pull together evidence which demonstrated their guilt to the jury.’
Damion Goodhall, 30, (left) of Tooting and Mark Agoro, 51, (right) of Thurrock pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy
Aziz Abdul, 37, (pictured) of no fixed abode, also pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy
Border Force Heathrow Director Phil Douglas said: ‘Our officers played a pivotal role in this investigation, helping to bring these individuals to justice.
‘Officers worked closely with the National Crime Agency, gathering vital intelligence before arrests were made. They also used their expert knowledge of the airport and its staff on the day arrests took place.
‘This case demonstrates that Border Force officers are on constant alert at all times of the year to keep restricted and prohibited items out of the country and prevent them getting into the hands of organised crime groups.’
Two couriers Danovan Bull, 45, and Moses Awopetu, 38, were arrested on arrival and would later plead guilty to importing class A drugs.
Bull, of Clapham, south London, pleaded guilty to possession of class A drugs with intent to supply at Isleworth Crown Court in January 2016 and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Three other men, Damion Goodhall, 30, of Tooting, Mark Agoro, 51, of Thurrock, and Aziz Abdul, 37, of no fixed abode, also pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy.
All will be sentenced later this year.
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