Latvian Drug Gang Jailed After West Midlands Cops Catch Them With Nearly GBP 1M Of Coke
Four Latvian men have been jailed for a total of nearly 50 years after West Midlands caught the gang with drugs worth around GBP 1 million.
The police sting took place in the town of Grimsby in October 2020.
The West Midlands Police said in a statement: “Our officers have helped bring down an international drugs ring which was caught with up to GBP 1 million worth of cocaine.”
The haul was discovered as part of a West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) investigation into drugs trafficking across the UK, East Europe, and the US.
The police explained: “Following a large operation, a BMW was stopped by colleagues from Humberside Police in Grimsby last October and the cocaine stash, along with almost GBP 200,000 worth of MDMA and cannabis, was found hidden inside two holdalls alongside the cocaine.”
Two gang members, Ilja Palionnijs and Egons Semjonovs, were already under police surveillance when CCTV cameras showed them putting the bags of drugs into the car outside a hotel they were staying in.
The West Midlands Police said: “The BMW driver Igor Gridin and passenger Aleksej Sagamogas were then stopped shortly afterwards and all four men – from Latvia – were arrested and subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply drugs.
“Text messages from ring leader Palionnijs’ phone showed he was directing the trade of drugs across continents. He and Semjonovs had flown from Riga to London and then at some stage collected the drugs.”
According to the police, they travelled to Grimsby separately to see Gridin and Sagamogas who then drove from London to meet them the next day for the exchange.
On 8th September, the four Latvian men were jailed for a combined total of nearly 50 years at Great Grimsby Crown Court.
The police said: “It was the culmination of a combined sting led by West Midlands ROCU with support from the National Crime Agency, Europol, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the Latvian Organised Crime Division.
“We’ve not only taken a haul of drugs out of circulation but stopped this gang from trading. Drugs can not only cost lives, but lead to further crime, and there will be no let-up in our work to tackle those involved in the illegal supply of them.”
