Local Man Part Of "Broom Handle" Drugs Gang

Six men have been jailed after smuggling more than £1 million of cocaine into the UK by coating it invisibly on broom handles.

London's Metropolitan Police say this is thought to be the first time the method has been used to import the drug into the UK.

The gang members were convicted in June, after a four and a half-month trial, of conspiracy to import cocaine, almost two years after their original arrest in October 2021 following an investigation by the Met and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Nigel Rogers, 62, of Whitstable, Frank Asante, 48, of west London, Yuni Alexis Pacheco Miranda, 65, of north London, Daniel Oliver, 52, of Margate, Ermal Shtrezi, 41, of north London, and Terrence Allen, 74, of south-east London, were jailed for a total of 135 years at Kingston Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 14th December).

William Adams, aged 76 and of Brunswick Field in Teynham, was due to appear alongside the other men but was unwell and will be sentenced at a later date.

The court heard that a shipping container, containing the brooms, arrived from Columbia on Saturday 23rd October 2021 and was transported to the industrial unit of 'Pamper Cleaning' on the Darent Industrial Park in Dartford where Met Police and NCA officers swooped.