116 years for gang who smuggled £200 million of cocaine in banana boxes
Members of a gang who smuggled cocaine with a street value of £200 million inside a shipment of bananas have been jailed for more than 116 years.
Petko Zhutev, Ghergii Diko, and Bruno Kuci pleaded guilty to smuggling the shipment into the UK while Erik Muci and Olsi Ebeja were found guilty of their involvement following a five-month trial at the Old Bailey earlier this year.
Gemma Burns, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “A banana import business was used as a front to smuggle well over two thousand kilograms of cocaine into the UK; representing international drug trafficking on an industrial scale.
“The success of this prosecution was down to the CPS working closely with the National Crime Agency, who foiled the gang’s banana box scheme and most importantly stopped these dangerous drugs from reaching our streets.
“The significant sentences given to the gang mean they will be off our streets for a long time.
“These sentences send a clear message to criminals intent on trying to flood the UK with drugs that we will not rest until you are convicted and behind bars.”
The Crown Prosecution Service will now commence confiscation proceedings in order to reclaim the proceeds of the defendants' crimes.
Notes to editors
- Gemma Burns is a Senior Crown Prosecutor in the CPS London Complex Casework Unit.
- Petko Zhutev (15/03/1985) was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment after being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug.
- Ghergii Diko (06/09/1990) was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment after being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug, possessing a prohibited firearm and possession ammunition without a firearm certificate.
- Bruno Kuci (06/08/1992) was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment after being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug, possessing a prohibited firearm and possession ammunition without a firearm certificate.
- Erik Muci (14/11/1979) was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment after being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug and being concerned in the supply of a controlled Class A drug.
- Olsi Ebeja (29/03/1984) was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment after being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug and being concerned in the supply of a controlled Class A drug.