Four West Midlands drug smugglers busted for international haul after £1.6m of cocaine seized

Anthony Terry, 49, from Wolverhampton, organised the importation which was seized in February 2021. Credit: NCA

Four men from the West Midlands who conspired to supply drugs from the Netherlands to the UK and Ireland have been convicted.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) says Anthony Terry, 49, from Wolverhampton, organised the importation and was under surveillance when £1.6 million worth of cocaine was seized at Belfast port on 22 February 2021.

The drugs had been transported in fuel tanks within a van, having travelled from the Netherlands to England and then across to Northern Ireland on a ferry.

After Terry heard news of the seizure, NCA officers watched him in the Wolverhampton area move identical fuel tanks to those found in the van so they would not be linked back to him. He was arrested the same day.

Terry had enlisted another man from Wolverhampton, 62-year-old Michael Collis, to travel to the Netherlands where he would meet contacts to pick up the drugs in his van.

Mohammed Omar Khan, 38, from Birmingham, was also recruited by Terry to supply drugs to customers in the UK. Meanwhile, Joshpal Singh Kothiria, 33, from Wolverhampton, suppled them in the Republic of Ireland.

Terry communicated with his organised crime group associates using the encrypted messaging service Encrochat.

The NCA identified other occasions in 2020 when he had smuggled drugs and cash for other organised crime groups.

Under Terry's instruction, Collis travelled to the Netherlands on 6 April 2020 to collect 17.5 kilos of cocaine. The drugs were divided up among the group, with 10 kilos delivered by Khan to Luton and Slough, and the other five-and-a-half kilos went to County Wicklow in Ireland with Collis.

The NCA say Kerry had also sent Kothira to East London for 10 kilos of cannabis at this time, which he brought back to the West Midlands for packing, before taking it on to Country Leitrim in Ireland.

Two weeks later, Collis picked up 18 kilos of cocaine in the Netherlands - delivering 10 to dealers in the UK and taking the rest to Ireland.

Officers say the final drug run among the group captured on Encrochat happened between 26 May and 3 June 2020, involving a cannabis delivery. Kothiria was sent by Terry to pick it up from Leicestershire and take it to Ireland.

In June 2020, Encrochat was taken down and abandoned as a platform, following the NCA's Operation Venetic.

Collis and Kothiria were arrested in March 2021. Khan had been arrested earlier, in December 2020.

The drugs were transported from the Netherlands to England and then across to Northern Ireland before being seized. Credit: NCA

Terry was jailed for 18 years following a trial in November 2022, in relation to the seizure of the £1.6million worth of cocaine in Belfast.

He was also charged with the additional drug trafficking offences linked to the messages found on his Encrochat device in April 2022 and pleaded guilty in April this year.

Collis also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking offences in April.

Kothiria and Khan were convicted today (19 May) at Wolverhampton Crown Court after a two-week trial.

A date for the sentencing of all four men is yet to be confirmed.

Mick Pope, NCA Branch Commander, said: “This was a sophisticated operation to smuggle drugs into the UK and Ireland to make significant profit.

“Terry was the kingpin of this group, offering a service to criminals who needed to obtain drugs or move money.

“These convictions have taken a harmful crime group out of action, and demonstrate the NCA’s commitment to protecting the public from serious and organised crime.”