East Londoners locked up in May including people smugglers

Here are the names and faces of east Londoners who judges have put behind bars this month.

Symon Karmolinski and Maciej Budzinski

Symon Karmolinski (left) and Maciej Budzinski (middle) were jailed while Amanda Bueser (right) was given a suspended sentence (Image: Met Police)Symon Karmolinski, Maciej Budzinski and Amanda Bueser were part of an online drug ring which used post offices including one in Havering to send out deliveries to its customers.

The Met Police dismantled the ring in east London which used various platforms online such as ‘World Pharmacy’, ‘Baked Bros’, ‘Baked Store’ and ‘Caliukvapes’ to gain an audience.

During an investigation between August 2022 to May 2023, a total of 88 items, including a “substantial” amount of controlled drugs were seized.

They also included cutting agents used to bulk out the drugs, scales,  empty bottles, post office labels, drug ledgers and multiple mobile phones. The total value seized is estimated to be worth £153,743.

Customers who were subscribed to these channels on Telegram or WhatsApp could place orders and the Class A, B and C drugs would be discretely packaged and shipped via mail services, police said.

An investigation into the Baked Bros store channel, which had 3,300 subscribers, revealed adverts for drugs and a Snapchat account offering various substances - including cocaine, cannabis, LSD, ecstasy, magic mushroom pills, codeine, amphetamine and oxycontin.

Budzinski, 26, of Dennington Road in Beckton, was sentenced to ten years and eight months imprisonment.

Karmolinski, 25, of Siviter Way in Dagenham, was sentenced to five years and ten months imprisonment.

Bueser, 25, of Siviter Way in Dagenham, was given a 15-months suspended prison sentence and told to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.

Read the full story - Online drug ring using social media to sell in east London unmasked

Myrteza Hilaj and Kreshnik Kadena 

Myrteza Hilaj (left) and Kreshnik Kadena (right) (Image: NCA)Myrteza Hilaj, 50, and Kreshnik Kadena, 37, both from Leyton, arranged for migrants to be smuggled into the UK using lorries and small aircraft.

The pair were behind at least nine migrant journeys in 2016 and 2017, three of which were via a light aircraft to an aerodrome in Essex.

Hilaj, the UK co-ordinator for the multi-national organised crime group was jailed for three years and six months, and his assistant Kadena to one year and eight months.

In 2017, NCA officers prevented and intercepted several crossings from Europe, working closely with French and Belgian counterparts.

Many of the migrants had Hilaj’s number saved on their phones, and had either communicated directly with him or with common contacts.

Read the full story - Two people smugglers charged migrants £10k to enter UK and faked ID for them

Telephone evidence revealed that the pair were fixers for a criminal network that charged Albanian migrants around £10,000 each to enter the UK, and then helped those individuals establish themselves in the country.

This included providing them with counterfeit passports, ID cards and fake utility bills.

Hilaj ensured that the vehicles transporting migrants arrived safely at a discreet location in the UK, dropped off their passengers and returned to their scheduled legitimate route without arousing suspicion.

He was also in regular contact with illegal migrants before and during their journey.