Three men have today, Thursday, 26 November, been jailed for a total of 45 years for conspiring to flood the streets of London with cocaine worth millions of pounds.
A police operation to snare the gang and smash their large-scale and sophisticated set-up recovered 75kg of cocaine with a street value of £15.6m.
However, ledgers found by police detailed 1,157 deals made by the men – with a total income of £23m.
Ronald Hook, 36 (12.10.79) of Bluebridge Road, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire was jailed for 22 years.
Warren Gravette, 47 (13.06.68) of Old Dairy Square, Winchmore Hill, N21, was sentenced to 10 years.
Spencer Pasicznyk, 41 (22.12.73) of Peregrine Close, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, was jailed for 13 years.
The men were convicted at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to supply cocaine between 1 March and 6 October 2013 – Hook was found guilty by a jury and the remaining three had pleaded guilty.
Two further men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine on 4 February 2014.
Sergio Gomes, then 38 (2.12.75) of Ivychurch Lane, SE17 was jailed for 12 years; and Camilo Valencia-Garcia, then 33 (3.01.81) of Ravenhill Road, E13 was sentenced 12 years imprisonment.
Another man, Andrew Georgiou, 53 (8.01.62) of Nevill Way, Loughton, Essex, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and awaits sentencing at a later date.
Detective Inspector Paul Foreman, from the Met’s Organised Crime Command, said: “These three men were big players in the supply of cocaine to the streets of London and beyond.
“They had set up a highly-sophisticated operation, taking delivery of vast amounts of cocaine and mixing it with cutting agents before selling it on at enormous profit.
“The drugs were incredibly pure and worth huge amounts of money. But a lengthy and meticulous police operation succeeding in dismantling their operation and I am pleased at the substantial jail terms they have received today.”
Following information received, police began monitoring the activities of the group in April 2013.
The court heard that the defendants operated mainly out of a unit at Interchange East Industrial Estate on Grosvenor Way, Clapton, E5. Rented by Hook and managed on a daily basis by Pasicznyk, it was disguised as a legitimate building business. However, the unit was actually used to store the cocaine and associated paraphernalia as well as ledgers and a number of mobile phones, which were purchased and disposed of regularly.
The premises was used to ‘break down’ and ‘bulk up’ the cocaine. Large dustbins and toolboxes were seen to regularly come in and out of the unit and evidence was later found of benzocaine – a local anaesthetic drug – that had been used to mix with the cocaine.
Tests showed the cocaine in its natural form was some of the most pure ever seen in the UK at 92 per cent. It was then mixed with the cutting agent to be sold on at a huge profit.
In September 2013 an industrial press, used to form blocks of cocaine once it had been broken down, was brought to the unit by Pasicznyk. A large number of rucksacks and holdalls were also seen to go in and out.
The gang did much of their business via mobile phone but also held meetings in vehicles or on golf courses. They each had nicknames – Pasicznyk was ‘Boz’, Georgiou ‘Bubble’, Hook ‘Artful’ and Gravette was known was ‘Ears’.
The court heard that Hook was the main player in the operation, using the profits he made to enjoy a lifestyle playing golf, socialising and travelling frequently. Gravette was his right-hand man and dealt directly with the drug supplier, who remains unidentified.
Pasicznyk was below them in the chain, buying and taking deliveries of cocaine and breaking down the drug. He also dealt with the finances. Beneath Pasicznyk was Georgiou, although he still played a significant role in day-to-day operations.
Two consignments of drugs were intercepted by police during the operation. On 6 June 2013 four holdalls were taken out of the unit by Pasicznyk and Georgiou and placed in a car driven by Valencia-Garcia and Gomes whose role in the conspiracy, outside of this delivery, is unclear.
The vehicle was stopped and Valencia-Garcia and Gomes – both Colombian nationals were arrested and charged. A total of 69.9 kilos of cocaine was seized, with a street value of 13.8m.
The rest of the gang continued operations from the unit.
On 5 October 2013 police swooped and arrested Pasicznyk as he entered the unit with six kilos of cocaine worth £1.8m. Hook was arrested the same day at his home.
Georgiou was on holiday in Cyprus at the time of the raid. He was circulated as wanted and arrested at Luton Airport when he came back into the country on 2 July 2014.
Gravette fled to Amsterdam where he was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant in January 2014. As Dutch police detained him he attempted to eat a piece of paper which detailed the alphanumeric code he used to communicate on his mobile with his co-conspirators.
They were subsequently charged.