Ringleader of £135 million drugs gang jailed for 23 years in 'biggest drugs case' police had dealt with
The ringleader of a major organised crime gang which imported at least £135m of drugs into the UK has been jailed for more than 23 years.
Jonathan Arnold - the son of a former police and crime commissioner - enjoyed a life of luxury on the back of his drugs empire, but has now faced the consequences.
The 30-year-old has been sentenced alongside fellow gang members James Jenkins, Connor Fletcher, and Humayan Sadiq, who have all been handed lengthy jail sentences.
Arnold's gang brought nearly two tonnes of cocaine, heroin and ketamine into the UK via ports using a furniture removal company as a front for their travel.
The gang would use dummy loads of furniture to hide packages of drugs in lorries and vans, some of which had hidden compartments to conceal the shipments.
Arnold, who is from Sutton Coldfield, enjoyed a life of luxury on the back of his drugs importation empire, enjoying trips to Dubai where he would film himself driving a Ferrari.
West Midlands Police say that Arnold's operation is "the most significant drug supply operation we have ever dealt with".
Police officers from the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia forces working in the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) dismantled the gang’s operations.
The gang’s downfall started in January last year when one of their couriers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made a drug run to Europe in a Real Estate Removals van.
But his van was searched by French Customs’ officers who found 63 blocks of cocaine weighing 71kg along with 99 bags of ketamine weighing 101kg.
The drugs had a UK wholesale value of more than £2.5m (£2,561,900).
The biggest single seizure came in April last year, when the gang tried to bring 1,477kg of cocaine with a street value of around £118m into Portsmouth.
The drugs, hidden among bananas, were seized by Dutch police officers on a ship which had travelled from Colombia to Vlissingen in the Netherlands. The ship was allowed to continue its journey into Portsmouth, after the drugs had been removed.
And in June last year, another of the gang’s drivers – Connor Fletcher from Wolverhampton – travelled to a town near Amsterdam for an overnight trip and returned with 60kg of cocaine hidden in two secret compartments built into the floor of the lorry.
By this point, the police investigation had linked him to the gang and police asked Border Force to intercept him on his return and he was arrested.
Estimates for the total value of all the drugs involved in the case vary, but it thought to be at least £135m.
Those in court were:
Jonathan Arnold, aged 30, of Cremorne Road, Sutton Coldfield. Arnold was the head of the group, an importer of drugs and someone who arranged importation of the drugs. He admitted four charges of conspiracy to import and supply drugs – cocaine, heroin and ketamine. Today he was jailed for 23 years and six months.
James Jenkins, aged 25, of Lichfield Street, Tamworth. Jenkins was a supervisor for the operation. He has been found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, but not guilty of importing cocaine. Today he was jailed for 15 years.
Connor Fletcher, aged 25, of Bridgnorth Road, Wolverhampton. Fletcher drove an HGV into Dover from Calais containing 60 kg of cocaine concealed within two hides. Found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine. Today he was jailed for 12 years.
Humayan Sadiq, aged 43, of Manchester. Sadiq had planned to move the cocaine that was due to have been brought into Portsmouth from Colombia via Holland. He was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine. He has been jailed for 27 years.
In a related case brought by the National Crime Agency, a corrupt port worker was jailed for 21 years, while two other men were also jailed.
Det Ch Supt Jenny Skyrme, head of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “We can’t underestimate the scale and significance of this criminal organisation. This is the biggest drugs case that we have ever dealt with as an organisation.
“The gang was operating at the highest levels of criminality, bringing in industrial quantities of drugs to sell on the streets of the West Midlands and beyond.
“As the head of the crime group, Jonathan Arnold enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, driving luxury cars and enjoying trips to Dubai.
“He gave the impression that he was a legitimate businessman with a small firm which moved furniture and had a turnover of £50,000 a month.
“The reality was that he was arranging tens of millions of pounds worth of drugs to be imported into the UK from Europe and South America, which would have gone on to cause untold misery and significant harm to communities.
“We were able to build a really detailed picture of this operation through mobile phone analysis, CCTV and other intelligence.
“Working with the National Crime Agency, Border Force, and law enforcement abroad, we’ve been able to put the gang behind bars where they will spend many years.”
Tim Burton, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a sophisticated criminal operation and the amount of drugs this gang was attempting to import into the country was colossal.
“These drugs were intended to be put into the hands of other crime groups. Had everyone involved in this criminal activity been successful, millions of pounds worth of drugs could have ended up on the streets of UK towns and cities causing public harm.
“The CPS worked closely with the NCA and West Midlands Police Regional Organised Crime Unit to build a strong case resulting in their conviction, disrupting the trafficking of drugs into the country.”
