Five men jailed for 'gigantic' Class A drugs operation in London using 'ghost warehouses'

Five men have been jailed after carrying out a "gigantic" drugs operation using "ghost warehouses" to transport cocaine and heroin.

Andrzej Walas, Robert Francuz, Jamie Allen, Dawid Gasiewski and Jagjit Singh were sentenced for importing and supplying Class A drugs across London at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday.

The Metropolitan Police said that over the course of its investigation, officers seized more than 300kg of cocaine and more than 60kg of heroin - estimated to be worth almost £8m.

Detective Constable Leon Ure said the case "centred on a criminal venture planned on a gigantic commercial scale".

"These offenders organised a significant drug line into London and the surrounding counties over a prolonged period of time," he added.

The Met Police said that the five men imported Class A drugs into the UK using official haulage routes and "ghost warehouses" - where lorries arriving in the country would divert to secret sites in Slough, and later Daventry, to offload the illicit shipments before carrying on their legitimate routes.

Drugs at the warehouses would then be removed, repackaged, and delivered elsewhere, the force said, adding that men were flown in from Poland specifically to help unload the substances.

Hire cars were also used to make short trips from the warehouses to distribute wholesale drug deliveries to dealers.

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The Met Police said its investigation began in July 2024, when officers surveilled a "suspect handover of boxes" in Slough.

A stop carried out by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit led to the seizure of 5kg of cocaine and 25kg of heroin.

The next month, Met Police officers executed a warrant at a warehouse in Slough, and found around 103kg of cocaine and 37kg of heroin, as well as additional amounts in lorries linked to the site.

The force said evidence showed the location had been repeatedly used for drug imports, with CCTV and phone data indicating at least 10 similar incidents between May and August 2024.

A further raid was carried out in August, but police said the group re-established operations in March last year, securing a "ghost warehouse" in Daventry.

The force said officers spotted a lorry from the Netherlands making an unexplained stop at the site on 7 April, where the driver - identified as Gasiewski - unloaded cargo before Singh arrived.

Police then arrived at the Daventry site and seized around 200kg of cocaine and a further 100kg inside the warehouse.

Allen was arrested shortly after arriving at the warehouse, the force said, while Walas and Francuz were arrested the following day.

The Met Police said that officers seized around 328kg of cocaine and 62kg of heroin over the course of its investigation - also supported by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.

It added that its analysis suggests the network was responsible for importing and distributing quantities potentially exceeding one tonne of Class A drugs.

Walas and Francuz were convicted of multiple offences, while Allen was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Gasiewski and Singh previously pleaded guilty.

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Walas, 48, of Slough, was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Francuz, 43, of Cotterells, Hemel Hempstead, was sentenced to 21 years.

Allen, 29, of Birmingham, was sentenced to 13 years.

Gasiewski, 32, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 14 years and four months, and Singh, 30, from Birmingham, was sentenced to 10 years and six months.

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