An image of the drugs recovered
(Picture: Met Police)A drugs gang have been jailed for almost 60 years after smuggling £14m worth of cocaine and ecstasy.
The men, who mainly lived in Essex, were convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday after police uncovered the international smuggling operation.
Harry Brydges, 30, from Bessemer Close, Basildon, was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to import and conspiracy to supply Class A controlled drugs.
Harry Simmons, 31, from Parkside, Basildon, was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to import Class A controlled drugs.
John Taylor, 29, from Lobelia Mews, Laindon, was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to supply Class A controlled drugs.
Milos Stevanovic, 27, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months imprisonment’ for conspiracy to import a Class A controlled drugs.
All four had previously pleaded guilty at the same court.
In April 2021, officers stopped an Audi Q7 travelling toward London on the motorway.
John Taylor was arrested after police recovered 85 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride.
The following month, officers witnessed Mr Taylor’s associate Harry Byrdges meet with Harry Simmons.
Brydges passed Simmons £9,000 in cash which Simmons took to Gravesend where he met lorry driver and Bosnian national Milos Stevanovic.
Simmons and Stevanovic were arrested as they unloaded 37 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and 35 kilograms of MDMA crystals which has just entered the UK in the lorry driven by Stevanovic.
An arrest enquiry was conducted at Brydges’ address in Basildon during which he jumped from a first floor window in a bid to escape but was arrested.
Detective Dave Williams, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “This case clearly highlights the positive outcomes that can be achieved through joint working.
“Working in partnership with our policing colleagues in Northamptonshire we have dismantled a network that used UK motorways to distribute drugs around the country.
“Despite the pandemic, there was a clear motivation to flood the UK with significant amounts of harmful Class A drugs that fuel violence, increase the chances of vulnerable youngsters being exploited into county lines, and ultimately affects the quality of life for our communities.
“We remain committed to tackling the importation and sale of illegal drugs and the sentences handed down clearly demonstrate the seriousness of these crimes.”
Detective Rich Tompkins, from Northamptonshire Police, said: “I’m really pleased with the results of this joint operation with our Met colleagues, and the successful conviction of these individuals.
“It shows that by Forces working together we can tackle the scourge of drug dealers who use our road networks to transport and distribute illegal, harmful drugs into our towns and cities.
“I hope it sends a message to others concerned with this type of organised crime. We will proactively pursue you and when caught you will face a significant prison sentence and have your assets seized.”
