Hornchurch man convicted after £184m of cocaine seized

Erik Muci, 44, of Haynes Road, was convicted of conspiracy to import class A drugs by an Old Bailey jury on Thursday (October 10). 

He is one of five men convicted of offences after 2.3 tonnes of cocaine was intercepted in February 2021. 

The cocaine was hidden inside 41 pallets of bananas and had been imported from Turbo in Colombia. 

The bananas were destined for Agro Food Ltd at the Crispin Industrial Estate in Tottenham, a business which 39-year-old Petko Zhutev was the director of. 

Armed police raided the industrial estate and made what the National Crime Agency (NCA) described as the one of the largest cocaine seizures made in the UK. 

The drugs had a variety of branded stamps on them corresponding to which organised crime group was going to sell them. 

The drugs were found at an industrial estate in Tottenham (Image: NCA) Muci was one of the main organisers of the drugs importation, the NCA said. 

Gjergji Diko, 33, from Italy, and Bruno Kuci, 33, from Albania, pleaded guilty to drugs, firearms and ammunition offences at the Old Bailey in October 2021 and April 2023 respectively. 

The firearms charges related to a weapon and ammunition found at the industrial unit. 

Zhutev, 39, from Otley Road, Custom House, was cleared of firearm offences but pleaded guilty to drugs importation offences. 

Olsi Ebeja, 40, from Albania, and Hornchurch man Muci were found guilty of conspiracy to import class A drugs. 

Top: Petko Zhutev and Olsi Ebeja. Bottom: Gjergji Diko and Bruno Kuci. (Image: NCA) The earlier convictions were covered by reporting restrictions which have now been lifted. 

John Coles, head of specialist operations at the NCA, said: “We work with partners at home and overseas to target organised criminals at the top of the chain and who pose the greatest risk to the UK, and the NCA is committed to disrupting their activities. 

“These men attempted to bring a huge amount of cocaine into the country - one of the largest hauls of its kind on UK soil – which was destined for crime groups across London and the wider UK, and the seizure stemmed from a thorough investigation by NCA and Met Police officers.” 

Det Supt Simon Moring, from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Central Specialist Crime Command, said: “This seizure would have been broken down into many millions of individual deals of cocaine. 

“This level of violence, mental and physical health problems and anti-social behaviour that would have ensued across London and the UK would have been significant."