This is the moment police smashed a drugs gang’s plan to smuggle £20million of cocaine in frozen fish from South America as they were jailed for a total of more than 70 years.
The gang were imprisoned yesterday for smuggling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and ketamine into Britain.
The criminals’ most daring plot involved three members planning to import 600kg of cocaine hidden in frozen fish shipments from South America.
The fish would be smuggled in through one of the gang members legitimate fish business in London’s Billingsgate Market.
The estimated value of the shipment was more than £20million.
Detectives uncovered the intricate drugs plot after dismantling encrypted conversations on platform EncroChat.
EncroChat was widely used by organised crime groups before being infiltrated and shut down in 2020.
Officers found messages showing the group discussing payments, shipping documentation, logistics and contacts in Ecuador responsible for sourcing the cocaine. However, the fish-smuggling plot never came to fruition.
Samuel Tokeley, 57, was sentenced to 22 years for his involvement in a plan to smuggle £20million worth of cocaine into Britain
Scott Richards, 51, was jailed for 14 and a half years for conspiracy to import Class A drugs
Dramatic video shows Met officers arresting Richards at an address in Colchester
Four men were sentenced to a total of more than 70 years in jail for their involvement in drug smuggling.
Samuel Tokeley, 57, was sentenced to 22 years, Scott Richards, 51, was jailed for 14 and a half years, Scott Unwin, 52, was imprisoned for 13 years and Nicholas Shilling, 63, of Dubai, received 22 years.
Specialist teams within the Met launched an investigation after intelligence from EncroChat was shared with police through the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Detectives discovered Tokeley, Richards, Unwin and Shilling were the key members within the organised drugs gang.
Tokeley was identified as the leader of the gang. Officers found that he coordinated the wholesale supply and importation of drugs into Britain.
The gangsters explicitly messaged each other about the movement of cocaine, ketamine, large sums of cash and cryptocurrency as well as plans to use legitimate businesses to move drugs.
Detective Chief Inspector Dean Grafton said: ‘This investigation exposed an organised crime group operating on an industrial scale, attempting to hide their criminal activity where people were going about their daily business.
‘The operation had links stretching from South America and mainland Europe to the streets of the UK.
‘The defendants believed that encrypted communication platforms would protect them as they discussed vast quantities of drugs, laundering criminal profits and exploiting legitimate businesses to facilitate their offending.
Scott Unwin was put in prison for 13 years following an investigation into messaging platform EncroChat,52, often used by criminal gangs
Video shows Uwin being arrested at an address in Dagenham
Nicholas Shilling, 63, of Dubai was arrested in Ibiza by the Spanish National Police under extradition warrants
‘Through meticulous analysis of EncroChat data and close collaboration with the National Crime Agency and our international law enforcement partners, we were able to identify those responsible and gather overwhelming evidence against them, to ensure they were put behind bars.
‘These sentences reflect the scale and sophistication of this criminality and demonstrate our relentless determination to pursue organised crime groups wherever they operate.’
Tokeley was living in Alicante, Spain when he was arrested in summer 2023. Officers from the Spanish National Police, supported by the NCA and Met Police, arrested him under extradition warrants.
Shilling was arrested in Ibiza under the same powers.
Dramatic video shows Met officers arresting Richards and Unwin at addresses in Colchester and Dagenham. Police found cash and mobile phones linked to drug dealing.
Tokeley pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
Richards, Unwin and Shilling were convicted by a jury following a trial which concluded in May.
