Five men sentenced for their role in drugs ring

Nine kilos of heroin seized by police seized in January 2012 Credit: Metropolitan Police

Five members of a drug trafficking network have been jailed for a combined total of more than 40 years, after a police operation which led to the recovery of cocaine, cannabis and 2-CB tablets with an estimated street value of £6m, and £45,000 in cash.

The last two members of the group were sentenced on Friday, 3rd October at Southwark Crown Court, following a Metropolitan Police investigation into the suspected importing and distributing of cocaine and cannabis, and money laundering.

Paul Chant and Rafael Ankona were sent down on Friday, three others had previously been jailed.

Paul Chant, 45, from Bromley in Kent was jailed for 13 years, after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to conceal, disguise, transfer, convert criminal property.

Rafael Ankona, who was also jailed at Southwark Crown Court Credit: Metropolitan Police

Rafael Ankona, 38, a Dutch-based Israeli was sentenced to eight and a half years imprisonment, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Police were alerted to the activities of Chant, Ankona and their associates after smashing another drug-dealing ring two years ago.

In June 2012, three people were jailed for a total of 44 years following the recovery of cocaine and cannabis worth an estimated street value of £12m, and £2.1m in cash. The ringleader, 65-year-old Charles Flatman from Bromley, was jailed for 24 years.

Before Flatman’s arrest, police had discovered he was associated with another significant drug trafficker in the area, Paul Chant ,who portrayed himself as a hard working businessman to mask his criminal activities.

Police began an operation targeting Chant and his associates. In January 2012, Dennis Debaeza, who was employed by Chant, travelled to a lay-by situated close to Junction 2 of the M3 motorway and met with the driver of a Dutch lorry. The driver handed a large bag to Debaeza, who was later stopped by officers as he drove back towards Bromley on the A22. The bag was found to contain nine kilos of high purity cocaine.

Debaeza was jailed for four years at an earlier hearing Credit: Metropolitan Police

Dennis Debaeza, 47, of Sydenham Road, Croydon, was sentenced to four years imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court on 24th April 2012, after pleading guilty to possession of nine kilos of cocaine with intent to supply.

In May 2012, Paul Dorsett was stopped driving his car in Mayow Road, Sydenham. His car was searched for drugs and a bag containing approximately 28g of cocaine was found in the vehicle. A further two kilos of cocaine were found at his home address.

Subsequent forensic analysis of the wrappings surrounding the drugs found at Dorsett’s home address were found to have Chant’s fingerprints on them.

Paul Dorsett pleaded guilty to possessing two kilos of cocaine Credit: Metropolitan Police

Paul Dorsett, 56, of Upper Elmers End Road, Beckenham, was jailed for five years at Croydon Crown Court on 14th November 2012, after pleading guilty to possession of two kilos of cocaine with intent to supply.

Two of his associates had been caught, but Chant continued to deal drugs. In January 2013 Chant met Ankona at McDonald’s fast food restaurant in Bromley Common. Ankona had travelled to the location with his wife and young child in a mini cab they hired in Central London. Ankona was carrying a black satchel and they walked together back to Chant's home address and entered for a short period before leaving again. Ankona was no longer carrying the satchel when he left and officers swooped on him as he left the gated courtyard. The satchel was found in a cupboard below the stairs in Chant’s house and found to contain four kilos of high purity cocaine.

Ankona and Chant were both arrested and charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Further enquiries revealed Ankona, an Israeli citizen, had travelled to the Netherlands and then on to London in the days leading up to his arrest.

Later in January 2013, Peter Lewis was arrested close to his home. Lewis had visited Chant on a number of occasions. His address was searched and five kilos of cannabis and 60,000 2-CB tablets were found hidden in furniture in his living room. 2-CB is a Class A drug which can cause the user to hallucinate and self-harm. This was the largest known seizure of that drug at the time in the UK.

Peter Lewis, who was the last member of the gang to be arrested Credit: Metropolitan Police

Peter Lewis, 55, of St Augustines Road, Camden, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court on 17th March 2013, after being found guilty of possessing of five kilos of cannabis and 60,000 2-CB tablets with intent to supply.

Detective Inspector Colin Douglas, from the Metropolitan Police said: "These sentences are a satisfying culmination of months of painstaking police work and the fact that all five pleaded guilty showed the overwhelming evidence against them.

"The Met worked extremely hard to dismantle this conspiracy and seize more than £6m-worth of drugs destined for the streets of cities across the UK."