07/02/2012

Drug Dealer Jailed For 12 Years

A drug smuggler who imported herbal cannabis with a street value of £2.1m was sentenced yesterday, Monday 6 February, to 12 years imprisonment.

Alexander Odewale, 44 (23.09.67) of Holtye Road, East Grinstead, RH19, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court for conspiracy to import and supply 767 kilograms of cannabis that was hidden within a shipment of oranges.

"The Met is determined to target those individuals who brazenly import and supply illegal drugs."

The sentencing follows an operation conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service's Middle Market Drugs Partnership (MMDP), assisted by colleagues from the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

The drugs we discovered on 3 October 2010 after UKBA officers examined the consignment which had arrived from South Africa. They alerted officers from the MMDP who arrested Odewale on 23 February 2011.

Welcoming the conviction, Detective Inspector Steven Miles, of Middle Market Drugs Partnership, said: "The concealment methods used by Odewale shows a determination to evade detection and flood the streets of London with harmful drugs.

"The vigilance of the United Kingdom Border Agency officers led to the discovery of this significant find which prompted our inquiries and resulted in Odewale receiving a lengthy conviction.

"Through the partnership work of the Met and UKBA we are determined to target those individuals who brazenly import and supply illegal drugs. We encourage anyone with information concerning illegal drugs to pass it on."

(GK)

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