Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
Headline: Gang jailed for more than 50 years for drug supply
Seven men involved in the supply of approximately £1 million worth of cocaine were jailed for a total of more than 50 years on, Monday, 5 February at Isleworth Crown Court.
On 5 November 2017 all seven defendants were charged as follows:
Ergert Ibrihimi, 27 (13.11.1990), of no fixed abode was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment.
Gentian Rina, 21 (5.4.1996), of Outram Road, Oxford was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Vilson Elezi, 29 (2.6.1988), of Outram Road, Oxford was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Damiano Kola, 21 (28.10.1996), of Outram Road, Oxford was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and two counts of possession of a false identity document. He was sentenced to eight years and four months’ imprisonment.
Klodian Rina, 20 (4.3.1997), of Rymers Lane, Oxford was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Lulzim Ramadani, 31 (18.6.1986), of Herschel Crescent, Oxford was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and two counts of possession of a false identity document. He was sentenced to five years and eight months’ imprisonment.
Edison Zebi, 21 (12.7.1996), of no fixed abode was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of a false identity document. He was sentenced to eight years and four months’ imprisonment.
All defendants pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing on 5 December 2017.
The gang was caught following an intelligence-led operation carried out by the Met’s Organised Crime Command.
Officers witnessed a meeting between Zebi and Ibrihimi in Lytton Road, Oxford on 5 November 2017. Zebi was seen handing Ibrihimi a black bag, which was later found to contain 12 blocks of cocaine.
Zebi and Ibrihimi were arrested, and following a search of a nearby property where Zebi was seen to have come from, five other men – Ramadani, Rina, Rina, Elezi and Kola – and 21 kilograms of cocaine were found. The property was being used by the gang to store, prepare and package the drugs.
Ibrihimi would travel from London to Oxford regularly to collect the parcels from this property. He would then return to London and distribute the drugs to gangs and organised crime networks across the city.
Ibrihimi would regularly use minicab services to travel to London and have the drivers wait while he conducted his deals.
In total detectives seized 32 kilos of cocaine and more than £1,000 in cash.
Kola, Ramadani and Zebi were also found in possession of stolen or false identity documents which were seized and investigated by officers in the National Document Fraud Unit.
Detective Inspector Mark Folan from the Met’s Organised Crime Command said: “This group of men had set up a system with the ability to distribute large amounts of cocaine across London. Through this intelligence led investigation we have stopped the drugs at source, crippling the gang’s ability to distribute drugs to street level dealers and gangs in London. I am incredibly proud of the team who were able to arrest a significant number of people involved, this has had a huge impact on their ability to continue their criminality.”