Sunderland man jailed for 19 years after gang smuggled cocaine into UK in boxes of bananas
Christian Lee, 50, and the rest of his cronies imported and distributed at least 1.4 tonnes of cocaine from Central America between March and December 2021.
by Felicity Collinson · ChronicleLiveA Sunderland member of a drug trafficking gang which smuggled cocaine from Central America into the UK hidden in banana boxes, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison. The gang whose combined jail terms exceed 90 years, imported and distributed at least 1.4 tonnes of cocaine between March and December 2021.
The organised crime group used an encrypted messaging app and pseudonyms such as Tunes, Bigwheeler and Rocket to coordinate the movement of between 30 and 100kg of drugs at a time, primarily using rental vans to transport the drugs across the UK. Arrests were made in October 2023 across six different areas, including Northumbria, eesside, Kent, London, Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire and Manchester.
The investigation by Kent Police's Economic Crime Unit first began after the infiltration of the encrypted messaging service EncoChat. Analysis of phone data revealed that on occasions they would use shipping containers to smuggle the drugs into Kent concealed amongst bananas.
On one occasion a ship arrived at the Port of Sheerness from Costa Rica and in one of the containers of bananas, over a tonne of cocaine was concealed. The following night, the gang arrived at the port removing the crates of cocaine and taking them back to a yard in Longfield for onward distribution.
Images later found on a phone showed how these would be distributed, reports Teesside Live.
On the same day, local police halted a vehicle departing from the yard in Longfield. A search of the vehicle revealed stacks of banana labels in the glove compartment.
When questioned about these, one man claimed they were collected by his son. These labels were later linked to the same shipping container used for drug smuggling.
After dividing the drugs among the couriers, gang members returned to the port the next night and filled the spaces left by the removed cocaine with bananas purchased from supermarkets. .
Following an extensive and intricate investigation, eight individuals were charged for their involvement in the organised crime gang. At a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday, October 1, seven were sentenced.
The following admitted to conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs: Nikki Fewsdale, 42, of Meadow Court, Norton, was found guilty of importing class A drugs and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Addison Curtis, 37, of Westbrook Avenue, Margate, pleaded guilty to money laundering and received a two-year suspended sentence.
Christian Lee, 50, of Ravenna Road, Sunderland, was found guilty after a trial of conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs and was sentenced to 19 years in prison. Christopher Sharrock, 31, from Hawthorn Avenue, Wigan, Manchester, was found guilty of importing class A drugs and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
A 34 year old Manchester man has admitted to conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs, with sentencing set for November. Detective Sergeant Dean Sycamore commented on the case: "This was a long and complex investigation and there is no doubt this was a significant haul of drugs, which undoubtedly would have had a disruptive impact on the supply networks across Kent."
He added, "While we have been successful in taking a large amount of illegal drugs off the streets, we have also put significant drug dealers behind bars for a considerable length of time. It also sends a strong and clear message that if you attempt to set up a drugs supply network in this county, we will use all available tools to us to arrest you and put you before the courts and ensure the drugs are destroyed and most importantly, not on our streets."
Sycamore further stated, "We will also be doing everything within our power to strip those responsible of any assets gained as a result of criminal activity."
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