MEMBERS of a drugs gang who imported, stored and dealt cocaine have been jailed for more than 80 years, with the network falling 'like dominoes' after a year-long investigation.
The 17-strong group were arrested after large amounts of the drug was seized from addresses across London. They were linked to a haul of cocaine worth an estimated s2.25 million.
The court heard how detectives started to unravel the vast criminal enterprise after finding a Baikal 9mm handgun at the home of Brian McCarthy, 53, in April 2012.
McCarthy, of Beechwood Avenue, Hayes, was jailed for four years at Snaresbrook Crown Court that July for possession of the firearm, a silencer and ammunition.
His arrest led officers to one of McCarthy's associates, Gary Ewen.
Ewen, 52 and from Great Cambourne, Cambridge, had been using his haulage business based at Aztec Logistics in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, to ship large amounts of cocaine into the UK from the continent.
Inquiries revealed that Ewen had been concealing the drugs in his lorries before passing the loads to a high-level gang member, Mark Lehane (pictured), of Charville Lane, Hayes, who sold it onto street dealers.
The police operation ran from January to December 2012. Each arrest led to another suspect, and covert officers witnessed several drug deals taking place.
During one transaction, one member was seen handing over s93,940 to an associate for drugs.
Another was apprehended with just over 62 grams of cocaine hidden in his underpants, along with s2,000 in cash and a Rolex watch concealed in a bag.
Another was spotted by covert officers moving blocks of cocaine in the boot of his Audi sports car. When the vehicle was stopped a search revealed 993 grams of cocaine with a street value of s360,000.
In total, officers recovered 45 kilogrammes of cocaine and s150,000 in cash.
The group had previously appeared at Isleworth Crown Court between May and July, and the last defendant was sentenced on Monday, August 19.
The following members were convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine:
- Mark Lehane, 35, jailed for 10 years
- Rakesh Sharma, 33, of Beechwood Avenue, Hayes - jailed for eight years
- Gary Ewen, sentenced to eight years in prison
- Waqas Mohammed, 24, of Great Cambridge Road, Edmonton, jailed for eight years
- Dipak Joshi, 32, Eastbury Avenue, Northwood, jailed for seven years and four months
- Arunbir Bahia, 35, Leamington Place, Hayes, jailed for seven years
- Resham Singh, 35, of Upper Clapton Road, Hackney, jailed for four years
- Lee Davies, 28, of Falling Lane, West Drayton, jailed for six-and-a-half years
- John Sousa, 41, of Pinewood Avenue, Uxbridge, sentenced to four-and-a-half years
- Jatinder Sidhu, 23, Cranleigh Gardens, Chatham, jailed for two years and nine months
- Elliott John-Phillip, 32, of Derby Road, Enfield, jailed for four years
- Daniel Lloyd, 27, of Church Road, Watford, sentenced to three years
- Omar Assaf, 32, of Cranleigh Gardens, Harrow, was sentenced to four years for three counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
- Jasmine Nahal, 23, of Watford Road, Harrow, had a two-year sentence suspended for two years. She was also convicted for burglary, and another 18-month suspended term was imposed.
Three men were convicted of money laundering:
- Steven Haywood, 56, of Old Charlton Road, Shepperton, jailed for two-and-a-half years.
- Liam McCarthy, 55, of East Avenue, Hayes, sentenced to three years.
- Sefedin Gashi, 29, of Graham Road, Hayes, jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Detective Inspector Chris Heerey, of the Met Police's Central Task Force, said today: "This was a highly organized gang working to import large amounts of relatively pure cocaine before moving it to various storage locations.
"Once prepared and cut for street usage it would be handed over to the smaller scale drug dealers to sell on.
"Once the main gang members were intercepted my team was able to locate the rest of the group as they tried to move the drugs to alternative locations.
"They literally fell like dominoes, from the main cocaine importers at the top end right down to the street drug dealers."
