Samuel Tokeley, Nicholas Shilling, Scott Richards and Scott Unwin were jailed Friday for a drug-import conspiracy; Nicky Bowers received 16 years in January. The five planned to smuggle 600kg of cocaine from South America into the UK in frozen fish shipments.
Police estimated the cocaine was worth £20m. At Snaresbrook Crown Court, Tokeley and Shilling each received 22 years, Richards 14½ years and Unwin 13 years.
Scotland Yard uncovered the plot after National Crime Agency officers found the group's plans on EncroChat. Messages on phones seized in the August 2023 raids revealed plans involving cocaine, ketamine, large sums of cash and cryptocurrency, with legitimate businesses and transport routes intended to conceal the goods. Investigators also found separate plans to source and process hundreds of kilograms of ketamine in Latin America and import it into the UK.
