Jail for trio who transported £4.5m of cocaine across city
DRUG dealers who transported a whopping £4.5m of cocaine across London in a holdall are now behind bars.
Lentian Isoufaj, 33, of Cipher Court, Flowers Way, Cricklewood, was spotted by cops carrying the drugs-filled bag.
Isoufaj and his accomplices were being watched by the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) in November 2016, as Isoufaj moved the huge bag of drugs from a van parked in Paddock Road, Cricklewood, into a minicab being driven by Lumturi Bitri.
Officers followed the cab to Hanger Lane where it was stopped and 32kg of cocaine – with an estimated street value of £4.5 million – was seized along with cash.
Isoufaj was arrested soon after the minicab left and was discovered to have false vehicle documents on him. Arjon Hyseni, 28, who was a passenger in the cab, was arrested after a struggle with officers, while 30-year-old Bitri was also detained.
A further 2kg of cocaine was later found during a search of Bitri’s Oxford home and all three men were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Both Isoufaj and Hyseni, of Borrowmead Road, Headington, Oxford, were sentenced to eight years and six months in prison at the Old Bailey on Friday March 23.
Bitri, of Sorrel Road, Oxford, was jailed for five-and-a-half years on the same day.
Matthew McMillan, from the Met’s Organised Crime Partnership, said: “We remain determined to crack down on the supply of Class A drugs within organised crime groups and this latest success proves there will be no let up.
“This was a substantial amount of drugs which has been removed from our streets. We are committed to using all the means at our disposal in our efforts to disrupt organised crime in London and across the UK.”
Bitri was also ordered to pay £4,645 and Hyseni £1,500 under the Misuse of Drugs Act.