RAF sergeant jailed for role in £1m drug-dealing plot

A SERVING RAF sergeant has been jailed for his role in a £1million drugdealing and money-laundering plot.

David Corentin was involved in a deal to supply cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines across London and Essex, a court heard yesterday.

The 32-year-old was stopped last October after investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA) saw his accomplice Jason Warner, 48, unload bags containing £500,000 into his vehicle on the A13.

An encrypted phone was found in his car which NCA officers believe was used to communicate with other members of the organised crime gang.

Warner was detained 11 days later when he was found to be in possession of a quantity of cocaine after leaving sheltered accommodation in Romford – where Dennis Jacobs, 71, his mother’s partner lived.

The pensioner’s flat was searched and officers found high-purity cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines and cannabis resin with an estimated street value of more than £1million.

Nearly £120,000 was stashed in a safe and various cutting agents hidden in his bedroom were also recovered.

Corentin was yesterday jailed for two years and three months after he admitted two counts of money laundering. Warner pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs and three counts of money laundering. He was sentenced to eight years and four months. Jacobs admitted three counts of permitting his premises to be used for the production of a controlled substance and one count of money laundering and was sentenced to 12 months in prison. All three men, who appeared at Kingston Crown Court, are from Essex.

John Coles, from the NCA, said: “Organised crime groups rely on professional enablers like Corentin, Warner and Jacobs to supply cocaine and other class A and B drugs across the UK.

“They are important links in the chain and disrupting their activities is a key priority for the NCA.”