Six people were jailed for their roles in the scheme that saw huge quantities of class A and class B drugs smuggled into the UK on an industrial and unprecedented scale, with the cartel’s leaders collecting hundreds of thousands of pounds on a monthly basis.
Nottingham Crown Court heard the organised crime group’s multi-million pound operation was uncovered following a parcel interception at Stansted Airport in May 2023.
The package had been shipped from America and had a label that described it as a weight-loss shake.
But when examined by Border Force officials, the parcel was found to contain 900g of methamphetamine – also called crystal meth – and two kilograms of cannabis.
Further parcels linked to the case were soon discovered, sparking a major investigation by Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit that resulted in detectives seizing the largest haul of crystal meth in the force’s history.
More than £7m worth of the stimulant drug was discovered and seized during the 18-month probe – the largest-ever quantity of crystal meth seized by Nottinghamshire Police.
Approximately £70,000 worth of cannabis was also seized during the investigation, which was codenamed Operation Continental.
As detectives unearthed the full scale of the enterprise, it was established the drugs gang had smuggled additional parcels into the UK, weighing 67kg in total.
While the contents are not known, the court heard they were likely to have contained further significant quantities of crystal meth and cannabis.
The investigation found the criminal gang launched their drugs enterprise by identifying addresses suitable to be used as recipients of drug shipments.
The criminal associates would then abuse their relationships, friendships and trust to dupe the occupants of addresses into accepting parcels, which they believed to be for a legitimate purpose.
The drugs shipments would be disguised in shipping labels as a weight loss powder, furniture, clothing and motorcycle helmets.
Once the parcels were delivered the contents were decanted and sold throughout Nottinghamshire and other parts of the UK.
This resulted in the drugs gang leaders collecting hundreds of thousands of pounds on a monthly basis, with the ill-gotten gains used to fund luxury holidays and trips to places such as Thailand, Dominican Republic, Dubai, Central America and the Greek Islands.
The gang members also spent large sums on designer clothing – including a pair of £1,200 trainers – and high-value watches.
Hajman was one of nine gang members who entered guilty pleas when they first appeared in court on January 24.
The group returned for sentencing on May 7 where, in addition to Hajman, the following sentences were handed down:
Davante James, aged 29, of Edingley Avenue, Sherwood, the gang leader, pleaded guilty to playing a significant role in the importation of a class A drug (methamphetamine) into Nottinghamshire and conspiring to import a class B drug (cannabis) and was jailed for 17 years.
Rakeem Thomas, aged 28, formerly of Weightman Avenue, Gedling, pleaded guilty to playing a significant role in the importation of a class A drug (methamphetamine) into Nottinghamshire and conspiring to import a class B drug (cannabis) and was jailed for 11 years and six months.
Jesse Kolo, aged 30, of Birdbrook Close, Dagenham, pleaded guilty to playing a significant role in the exportation of class A drugs (cocaine) to Australia and was jailed for five years and four months.
Lemar Taylor, aged 32, of Sherwin Walk, St Ann’s, pleaded guilty to importing a class A drug (methamphetamine) and conspiring to import a class B drug (cannabis) and was jailed for seven years and six months
Kyiem Raymond, aged 27, of Melford Road, Bilborough, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import a class B drug (cannabis) and was jailed for 45 months.
Lavontie Cameron, aged 26, of Kelvedon Gardens, St Ann’s, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a class B drug (cannabis) and was jailed for 38 months.
Taisha Chalmers, aged 29, of Brayton Crescent, Basford, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a class B drug (cannabis) and was handed an 18-month community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement.
Jabari Smith, aged 30, of Ballerat Crescent, Top Valley, pleaded guilty to being concerned in an arrangement which facilitated the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property and was handed an 18-month community order including 80 hours of unpaid work.
Bryony Hajman, aged 25, of Church Road, pleaded guilty to being concerned in an arrangement which facilitated the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property and was handed an 18-month community order, including 50 hours of unpaid work.
Det Insp Ian Smith, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: “This has been an exhaustive investigation which has culminated in almost 50 years of prison sentences.
“Together with UK Border Force, we have wiped out an organised criminal group, preventing them from continuing to gain extreme profits.
"Drugs on this scale invariably lead to further criminality including violence and acquisitive crime so to seize this quantity of drugs and secure a plethora of convictions is an excellent result.
“Drugs trafficking encourages a culture of violence and addiction and this result sends a clear message to those who blight our communities in this way – criminal gangs operating will not be tolerated and we will find you and we will prosecute you.
“We are now pursuing powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure that any property, cash or profits gained through this gang’s criminal activity are identified and seized.”