A CROYDON man has been jailed for 12 years for his part in a gang running class A drugs through Gatwick Airport from Jamaica.
Daniel Kennedy, 33, of Blunt Road, was sentenced today for one count of conspiracy to import three kilograms of cocaine.
Two other men: Thomas Ramdas, 34, of Norwood Road, Tulse Hill; and Keith Prempeh, 45, of Spring Grove Road, Isleworth, were also jailed.
Police say the drugs were distributed via Ramdas' business, Bubbas Restaurant in Tulse Hill.
The operation started to unravel in February 2013 when police searched a car travelling along Edgware Road in London.
Officers found three dog biscuit boxes, each containing one kilogram of heroin, in the boot.
A salt box containing 0.5 kilograms of crack cocaine was in the front passenger seat. The drugs were being delivered to Ramdas.
Officers discovered Ramdas and Kennedy had recruited Prempeh as a courier to import a large quantity of high purity (82 per cent) cocaine, into the U.K. from Jamaica.
On March 28 this year police and border agents stopped Prempeh when he landed in Gatwick airport from Jamaica.
He was wearing a tailor-made body suit containing three kilograms of cocaine strapped to his body. Ramdas and Kennedy were also arrested, and Ramdas
Ramdas convicted of a further count of conspiracy to import cocaine after evidence showed he recruited, planned and payed vulnerable young females to go to the Caribbean and import Class A drugs on his behalf.
Met Police Detective Inspector Troon said those involved had a "direct-link" with the supply to mid-level dealers in Croydon and Lambeth.
She added: "These sentences are a satisfying culmination of months of painstaking police work from specialist officers and Borough partners."
The men were convicted after a ten week trial at Kingston Crown Court.
Ramdas was jailed for 18 years' jail for each of four counts, including conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, to run concurrently.
Prempeh was sentenced to four years jail for conspiracy to import three kilograms of cocaine via Gatwick Airport.
