A high-level drug dealer police said to have had links to an Albanian crime gang has been jailed over a plot to smuggle 139 kilos of cocaine worth £11m into the UK – hidden in a consignment of bananas.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Robert Ball, from Trafford, ‘oversaw the nuts and bolts’ of the conspiracy on the ground together with an accomplice, Mirgent Shahu. Four members of the organised crime group, including Ball, have now been jailed.
All four were captured on covert surveillance as gang members ripped open the roof of a shipping container they thought the smuggled drugs were inside, but it was empty and police pounced.
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The NCA said its investigators had previously removed the drugs then tracked the container straight to the gang to make the arrests in April, 2022. The container had arrived from Ecuador and was searched at London Gateway port.
Ball, 59, from Hasty Lane in Altrincham, has now been jailed for 18 years. Together with Shahu he denied a cocaine importation offence, but both men were convicted by a jury at Warwick Crown Court in May this year and sentenced at the same court on Wednesday.
The NCA said in a statement: “Border Force officers found a number of cocaine packages in the roof area. These were removed and the container was resealed.
“A few days later Ball, who was later found to be acting on behalf of an Albanian organised crime group, contacted the shipping line to ask them to release four containers, including the one he thought contained the drugs.”
Ball is then said to have arranged for a transport company to collect and move the containers to a storage company in Coventry. But unbeknown to the gang of four, all the movements were being watched by NCA surveillance officers.
An NCA spokesperson continued: “Ball, along with accomplices Florjan Ibra, Shahu and Arman Kaviani, arrived a few days later, on April 15, 2022 – Good Friday. Ball had driven from Cheshire earlier that day, collecting Shahu at a Costa Coffee in Kings Heath, Birmingham.
“Ball and Shahu gave instructions to Kaviani and Ibra at the storage yard, who used a forklift truck to get on top of the container.
“They ripped open the roof using a crowbar and starting unloading packages they believed contained the drugs, but as they did so NCA and police officers moved in to arrest them. Kaviani and Ibra attempted to flee but were apprehended.”
Ibra, 30, and Kaviani, 37, pleaded guilty to the same charge at a previous hearing. Shahu, of Wyndley Drive, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, was also jailed for 18 years. Ibra, of no fixed abode, got 13 and a half years and Kaviani, of Chandos Way, Golders Green, London, was sentenced to 12 years.
NCA Operations Manager David Phillips said: “Ball and Shahu oversaw the nuts and bolts of this conspiracy on behalf of the organised crime group behind it. This group enlisted the assistance of Ibra and Kaviani, who they hoped would retrieve the drugs and make their efforts worthwhile.
“Unfortunately for these men, NCA officers were watching their every move before moving in to arrest them. Cocaine fuels violence and exploitation, including gang culture and firearm and knife crime in the UK and around the world.
“Removing this consignment from circulation will have been a sizeable blow to this criminal network, preventing them from generating profits that would have been invested in further criminality. We are determined to dismantle major international crime groups like this one from top to bottom.”
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “This is the latest example of Border Force officers seizing millions of pounds worth of cocaine and dismantling an abhorrent criminal gang.
“This case demonstrates how Border Force use cutting-edge technology to stay ahead of organised crime groups to keep our borders secure and protect our communities from illegal and dangerous substances.”
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
