Drug trafficker jailed for smuggling £8m cocaine stash

An Albanian man who claimed to be a former policeman running a security firm that provided bodyguards to celebrities has been jailed for 18 years for smuggling 60 kilos of cocaine in a specially adapted car.

Arjan Pasha, aged 40, from Biscot Road, Luton, told NCA investigators that he was a former Albanian policeman and had been in Brussels on business for his company.

He was stopped by Border Force officers at the Coquelles Channel Tunnel terminal in April 2014. A search of his Mercedes SUV revealed special compartments had been engineered into spaces around the spare wheel and another beneath the floor. Contained within was around 60 kilos of high purity cocaine, which if cut and sold in the UK would have had a likely street value of around £7.98 million.

Pasha’s cover story was found to be a lie after NCA officers obtained phone evidence showing he had also been to Spain and then Amsterdam before attempting to return to the UK.

Investigators also discovered that the security firm had never properly traded, and operated out of a lock-up in Greenford, London, which would have been used to remove the drugs from the car.

The Mercedes had been bought on Pasha’s request by Bodrul Hoque Chowdhury, aged 41, also from Luton, who had been paid £60,000 to source the vehicle using Chowdhury’s car dealership as a cover.

Pasha had rented a lock-up in Greenford, London, where he would have removed the drugs from the Mercedes.

Chowdhury admitted charges of money laundering and on 7 July 2015 he was given a 12 month suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 160 hours unpaid work.

Pasha denied importing class A drugs and stood trial at Canterbury Crown Court. At his initial trial the jury couldn’t reach a verdict but following a second hearing he was found guilty on Tuesday 15 December 2015. A judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

Richard Bowen from the NCA’s Dover border investigation team, said: “This car had been professionally adapted for smuggling drugs and would have been used time and time again. Our investigators were able to show that Pasha’s explanation for his journey was a lie. He bought the car knowing what he was going to do and travelled to the continent to collect the drugs.

“Working with our partners here and overseas we are determined to do all we can to stop criminals like Pasha who provide a drug transportation service for organised crime groups across the UK.”

Paul Morgan, Director of Border Force South East and Europe, said: “We welcome this sentence which sends a strong message to people who think they can smuggle drugs into the United Kingdom.

“Border Force officers use a range of high-tech search equipment to detect illegal substances and prevent them reaching the UK’s streets.

“As this case demonstrates, we work closely with law enforcement colleagues in the NCA to catch drug smugglers and put them behind bars.”