National Crime Agency (NCA)’s Post

Eighteen members of an international organised crime group (OCG) have been convicted after an NCA investigation into the UK’s biggest ever detected drugs conspiracy. The offenders are thought to have smuggled several billion pounds worth of heroin, cocaine and cannabis to the country. From south east England to Scotland, crime gangs were fed drugs from the OCG’s importations – which are believed to have contained more than 50 tonnes of drugs - the weight of around 30 family sized cars. Six seizures of drugs with a total street value of £40m were made from the OCG but NCA investigators proved there were at least 240 importations by the OCG, which went to great lengths to confuse the authorities and avoid justice. The OCG was led by Paul Green, 59, who was jailed for 32 years. As well as bringing in his own OCG’s drugs for sale, Green specialised in operating a smuggling route for other UK based crime groups. To avoid detection, the OCG concealed its drugs in consignments of strong-smelling foodstuffs such as onions, garlic and ginger. In 2018, after the NCA and Dutch Police began working together, the vast scale of the OCG’s offending became clear. Joint working led to the seizure of 450kg of cocaine and heroin and two tonnes of cannabis across three seizures at the ports of Killingholme and Immingham, both Lincolnshire, and one in the Netherlands. Judge Paul Lawton told the offenders: “It was only the dedication, persistence and professionalism of the National Crime Agency working in conjunction with their Dutch counterparts that the scale and complexity of your operation was unmasked.” Tackling the drugs threat is a top priority for the agency and this investigation shows the lengths we will go to in order to protect the public. We worked with a wide array of partners at home and abroad, all of whom provided crucial assistance in helping us put these criminals behind bars. FULL STORY ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7A8MBA2