Marius Molla was caught with a gun in a Gucci manbag and £3m in cocaine
(Picture: SEROCU police)A drugs smuggler who kept a gun in a Gucci bag has been jailed for 18 years after shipping £3 million of cocaine hidden among crates of limes into the UK.
Marius Molla, 31, took delivery of the drugs at a fruit storage facility in Waltham Abbey, while the lorry and its contents were under surveillance by police.
Officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) had inspected the truck – containing pallets of limes - when it arrived at Southampton Docks on December 1, 2020 from Brazil.
They discovered packages of cocaine, with a street value of £3 million, hidden inside the refrigeration unit.
They moved in to arrest Molla when he took delivery of the truck three days later, and also found the automatic 9mm CZ-type pistol and ammunition in a Gucci bag.
Police said the drugs had a street value of around £3 million, while the gun was found to be a viable weapon.
“Molla was involved in bringing millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK which would have inevitably found its way on to our streets and caused significant harm to those whose lives are already blighted by drug addiction within the communities of the South East,” said investigating officer Detective Constable Adam Knight.
“When police officers entered the warehouse to arrest Molla, they discovered he had a prohibited firearm and ammunition next to him. This is a stark reminder of the lengths those involved in this level of criminality are prepared to go to avoid having their crimes uncovered.
“This attempt to conceal the drugs in a refrigeration unit inside a container of limes was foiled by SEROCU, working together with Border Force and the National Crime Agency. This collaboration undoubtedly resulted in us finding the offender and ultimately led to him being convicted for his part in this crime.”
Molla, of no fixed address, denied but was convicted by a jury at Salisbury crown court of conspiring to evade a prohibition on importation of class A drugs.
He had been convicted in a separate trial at Southampton crown court of possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate.
Molla was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the drugs offence and a further seven years for the gun charge.
