Manchester member of gang jailed after cocaine shipped to UK in banana boxes

A Manchester member of a gang that smuggled Central American cocaine into the UK in boxes of bananas has been jailed.

Christopher Sharrock, from Wigan, and the rest of the members - whose jail terms add up to more than 90 years between them - imported and distributed at least 1.4 tonnes of cocaine from Central America between March and December 2021, a court has heard.

The organised crime group used an encrypted messaging app and used pseudonyms such as Tunes, Bigwheeler and Rocket to communicate and arrange the movement of between 30 and 100 kilos of drugs at a time.

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They predominantly used hire vans to collect and transport the drugs across the UK, reports Teesside Live. The investigation by Kent Police's Economic Crime Unit first began after the infiltration of the encrypted messaging service EncoChat.

Analysis of phone data established 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.

The same day, local officers stopped a vehicle leaving the yard in Longfield. During a search of the vehicle they found stacks of banana labels in the glove box. When officers questioned the men about them, one of the men claimed they were collected by his son. The labels were later traced to the same shipping container used to smuggle the drugs.

Once the drugs had been divided between the couriers, members of the gang returned to the port the following night and filled the gaps made by the removal of the cocaine with bananas they had bought from supermarkets.

Arrests were made in October 2023 across six different areas, including Teesside, Northumbria, Kent, London, Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire and Manchester.

A total of eight people were all charged for their part in the organised crime gang. At a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday, October 1, seven were sentenced.

The following pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs:

Christopher Sharrock, 31, from Hawthorn Avenue, Wigan, Manchester, was found guilty of importing class A drugs. He was jailed for 18 years.

Nikki Fewsdale, 42, of Meadow Court, Norton, was found guilty of importing class A drugs. He was jailed for 14 years.

Addison Curtis, 37, of Westbrook Avenue, Margate, pleaded guilty to money laundering. He was jailed for two years, suspended for two years.

Christian Lee, 50, of Ravenna Road, Sunderland, was found guilty following a trial of conspiracy to supply and import class A drugs. He was jailed for 19 years.

A 34-year-old man from Manchester pleaded guilty to consipracy to supply and import class A drugs. He will be sentenced in November.

Detective Sergeant Dean Sycamore said: "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."

"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."

"We will also be doing everything within our power to strip those responsible of any assets gained as a result of criminal activity."