Drug smugglers convicted for shipping large cocaine haul hidden in banana boxes through Portsmouth port
Organised criminals that smuggled a large amount of cocaine in a shipment of bananas through Portsmouth port have been convicted.
Five individuals have been convicted following a police investigation sparked by finding 2.3 tonnes of cocaine in a shipment from Columbia. The seizure is belived to be one of the largest ever of its type in the UK. Petko Zhutev, 39, from Bulgaria, Gjergji Diko, 33, from Italy, and Albanian nationals Bruno Kuci, 33, Olsi Ebeja, 40, and Erik Muci, 44, were investigated by the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) and arrested in 2021. The street value of the cocaine was £184m, police said.
They were detained by OCP officers, supported by an armed MPS unit, at an industrial estate in Tottenham, north London, after receiving 41 pallets of bananas which the cocaine had been loaded. Border Force officers at Portsmouth International Port had originally found the narcotics after the OCP told them they would be arriving on a cargo ship from Turbo, Colombia, concealed within a legitimate consignment of bananas. OCP officers removed the cocaine and followed the fruit consignment until it reached its final destination - Agro Food Ltd at the Crispin Industrial Estate.
Five men have been convicted for smuggling large amounts of cocaine in banana boxes through Portsmouth International Port. From left: Petko Zhutev, Olsi Ebeja, Gjergji Diko and Bruno Kuci. | National Crime Agency (NCA)
Investigators found that Zhutev had taken over as the director of the food company in December 2020. It was previously a legitimate business, but was acquired solely as a front for criminal activity. Muci was one of the principal organisers of the importation, seen by police meeting with Zhutev, Kuci and Diko at Agro Foods. He arranged the delivery and installation of equipment to make the business look like it was legitimate. Mobile devices used by the criminal group showed Muci controlled the importation and ongoing supply of significant amounts of cocaine across the UK.
Zhutev, Kuci and Diko accepted the assignment, with armed officers arresting them shortly afterwards. They used a circular saw to enter the locked premises during a raid. Empty banana boxes were strewn over the floor in a desperate attempt to find the drugs and move them from the site. Dozens of cardboard boxes were preconstructed to fill them with cash from drug sales. Officers found nine empty suitcases which the narcotics were going to be packed in for onwards supply. A forward-venting blank firearm with five rounds of live ammunition was found hidden behind a ceiling beam, along with numerous concealed mobile phones.
Ebeja was the intended lookout and driver for the drugs. He was arrested near Agro Foods as he waited inside a hire van. OCP officers then searched a flat linked to Diko and Muci. They found 37 kilos of cocaine and ammunition for the firearm. Ebeja was arrested again at an address in Central London in October 2023. Muci was detained outside an address in Hornchurch the following month. Diko and Kuci to drugs, firearms and ammunition offences at the Old Bailey in October 2021 and April 2023 respectively. They admitted charges in relation to the weapon and ammunition found at the industrial unit and Diko to the ammunition found at the flat.
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Packs of cocaine from one of the pallets seized by police. | National Crime Agency (NCA)
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Drugs found in one of the lorries linked to the drug smugglers. | National Crime Agency (NCA)
Zhutev, from West Beckton, London, was cleared of the firearms and ammunition offences at the same court in July last year, following a two-month trial. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on drugs importation offences and he was re-tried for these. However, he changed his plea to guilty on September 17, 58 days in to the re-trial. Ebeja and Muci were convicted today (October 10) and found guilty of conspiracy to import class A drugs. Muci was also found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (in relation to the cocaine found in the flat). A sentencing date for all five men is yet to be confirmed.
John Coles, Head of Specialist Operations at the NCA, said: “We work with partners at home and overseas to target organised criminals at the top of the chain and who pose the greatest risk to the UK, and the NCA is committed to disrupting their activities. These men attempted to bring a huge amount of cocaine into the country - one of the largest hauls of its kind on UK soil – which was destined for crime groups across London and the wider UK, and the seizure stemmed from a thorough investigation by NCA and Met Police officers.”
Detective Superintendent Simon Moring, from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Central Specialist Crime Command, added: “This seizure would have been broken down into many millions of individual deals of cocaine. This level of violence, mental and physical health problems and anti-social behaviour that would have ensued across London and the UK would have been significant. This seizure highlights the relentless drive by the Met Police, the NCA and wider UK law enforcement to tackle the illegal supply of drugs.”
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