Andrea Kidd, 49, has been jailed for six years for her part in a plot to flood the streets of east London with £2million of class A drugs
A mother-of-two has been jailed for six years for her part in a plot to flood the streets with £2million of class A drugs.
John Lewis employee Andrea Kidd, 49, worked as a courier for Samsul Ali, 25 and Ibrahim Miah, 24, who were caught with 29 kilos of cocaine and heroin.
Detectives swooped after Uber Eats driver Ali and electrician Miah delivered seven kilos of cocaine to Kidd in Limehouse, east London, in July.
Officers searched Miah’s home in nearby Coltman Street, and found a cocaine press as well as £3,000 in cash.
They also found a tenancy agreement for a ‘safe house’ in nearby Candle Street, and found 14 kilos of heroin there, along with eight kilos of cocaine and another drugs press.
The trio were convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs a jury at Blackfriars Crown Court.
Kidd, who was working at John Lewis before she was arrested and who was living in a four-bedroom home worth £464,000 in Milton Keynes, was sentenced to six years imprisonment for a ‘lesser role’ in the conspiracy.
Kidd, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, admitted it was not the only pick-up and delivery she had made, but insisted she had been ‘exploited’ by Miah and Ali.
Kidd worked as a courier for Samsul Ali (left), 25 and Ibrahim Miah, 24 (right), who were caught with 29 kilos of cocaine and heroin. They were jailed for 15 years each
Detectives swooped after Uber Eats driver Ali and electrician Miah delivered seven kilos of cocaine to Kidd in Limehouse, east London, in July
Ali was jailed for 15 years for his ‘significant role’ in the conspiracy.
Miah, who has a young daughter and another child on the way, was also jailed for 15 years.
Judge David Richardson, sentencing, said: ‘The three of you know that sentences for supplying class A drugs are high for a reason.
‘The drugs lead to addiction. The addiction leads to criminality, to family break down, to ill health and a huge amount of misery for many people.
‘They lead to life changing possibilities for people and that’s why the sentences are life changing sentences.
‘You engaged in a trade that causes misery for large numbers of people and the sentences for it are substantial.
‘Kidd – I find a limited function under direction. No doubt you were motivated by some extent by financial advantage but not on a significant scale.
‘You were not involved in the safe house. As a courier I have no doubt the collection points were to keep you separate from it. But I have to bear in mind the quantity of drugs.
‘You delivered something and you collected from Ali and Miah seven kilos which you would have taken away but for the seizure.
‘In your interview you said this was not your first journey as a courier but t seems I have to take that 7kg as a metre of your criminality.
Officers searched Miah’s home in nearby Coltman Street, and found a cocaine press as well as £3,000 in cash
At Blackfriars Crown Court, the trio were jailed for their part in the plot
‘Miah and Ali – you had taken careful steps to distance the collection points from the safe houses. Both of you had keys to the premises.’
Friends and relatives packed the public gallery as the trio were sentenced.
Kidd was convicted of one count of conspiracy to supply a class A drug.
Miah, of east London and Ali, of Tower Hamlets, were convicted of three counts of supplying class A drugs.
A forfeiture and destruction order was made for the drugs, phones seized, and the £2,600 found in the safe house.
DI Steve Miles from the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) said: ‘These three went to extreme lengths to stay under the radar when they distributed their drugs.
‘The meetings were pre-planned and took place in an area that was being heavily developed – Miah even dressed as a construction worker so not to draw attention to himself.
‘The seizure of this significant amount of drugs has taken away a revenue stream that I am sure would have funded further criminality and harmed the communities of London.’