Two men from Haringey were among the six arrested

Two men from Haringey have been jailed after their gang imported £1million worth of cocaine hidden in broom handles to the UK.

On Thursday, 14th December at Kingston Crown Court, Yuni Alexis Pacheco Miranda of The Roundway, Tottenham, was sentenced to 29 years’ imprisonment and Ermal Shtrezi of Lyndhurst Road was sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment after being charged with conspiracy to import cocaine.

Four other men have also been jailed, with a seventh man facing sentencing at a later date.

The Metropolitan Police began investigating the gang in December 2020. In 2021, the National Crime Agency (NCA) provided intelligence that the group were planning to import class A drugs from overseas.

The seven men planned to import 30 kilograms of cocaine, hiding the drug by coating broomsticks in a lacquer containing cocaine, shipped in a container via legitimate means.

The cocaine had previously undergone a chemical process in Columbia to convert it into a lacquer which was used to varnish the broom handles.

In April 2021, the broom handles were ordered from Columbia, while the gang created a fake audit trail. A shipping container storing the brooms arrived on 23 October 2021 and transported them to an industrial unit.

On 25th October 2021, police and NCA officers attended the unit on the Darenth Industrial Estate, Kent, where the mops and broom handles were being unloaded.

Five people unloading the lorry were arrested at the scene. Two men, who had also been involved in the group’s activities, were arrested later that day at their home addresses.

Detective sergeant Nicola Hawkins who led the investigation said: “These men were a group of career criminals with previous convictions for similar offences. Miranda and his accomplices played a hands-on role in the importation and were caught red handed by officers, who had been diligently watching and building strong evidence against them.

“The data officers discovered on Miranda’s phone during the trial was a treasure trove of evidence incriminating him, including images showing the cocaine being painted onto the broom handles in Columbia.

“Our priority is to keep Londoners safe – drugs cause misery to communities and the associated issues plague local residents. The Met is taking out the organised supply of drugs into the UK at the top of the chain and removing those involved at all levels off the streets of London. In order to continue to achieve this objective, the Met continues to work closely with our partners at the NCA.”

Dean Wallbank, senior investigating officer from the National Crime Agency, said: “The NCA is committed to tackling drug trafficking, no matter how hard offenders attempt to hide their activity, and we work tirelessly to dismantle gangs like this one every single day.

“Once we established that Daniel Oliver was working with a London based crime group already under investigation by the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, we shared our intelligence in support of a joint approach to tacking this organised criminal network.

“The results today show what we can achieve through collaboration with our policing colleagues, ensuring that drugs are kept off the streets and the public is kept safe from serious and organised crime.”

The five other men sentenced at Kingston Crown Court were: Nigel Rogers of Olympia Way Whitstable, Kent (23 years’ imprisonment); Frank Asante of Ledbury Road, Kensington (18 years); Daniel Oliver of The Parade, Margate, Kent (29 years); Terrence Allen of Wordsworth Road, Welling (13 years).

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