Enfield druglord jailed for smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine and cannabis through the post

Sophisticated: packages were sent from around the world
National Crime Agency
Hannah Al-Othman17 December 2015
WEST END FINAL

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A London druglord who smuggled millions of pounds worth of drugs into the UK through the post has been jailed for 15 years.

Nigerian national Patrick Udensi, 34, from Enfield, was arrested in January after Border Force staff at the Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre found cocaine in a package that had been sent to an address in north London.

The parcel, which had come from St Maarten in the Caribbean, led National Crime Agency officers to uncover a sophisticated smuggling operation, headed up by Udensi.

He was the kingpin in a network of criminals who had been involved in at least 77 different parcel deliveries of cocaine and cannabis - with a potential street value of about £1.8million - to 14 different addresses across north London.

Seized: the parcel contained cocaine
National Crime Agency

Telephone and email records showed Udensi had used Skype, Yahoo Messenger, iMessage and WhatsApp to communicate with drug distributors in Africa, Asia and South America, advising them of names and addresses to send the parcels to.

He was found guilty on Tuesday of conspiring to import class A and class B drugs following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court, and the following day he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Jailed: Patrick Udensi
National Crime Agency

A second man, John Arinze Nwosu, 42, from Edgbaston, Birmingham, a key organiser for the network, absconded from bail prior to trial, but was convicted in his absence and sentenced to 5-and-a-half years.

Ian Truby, senior investigating officer for the NCA’s Heathrow border investigation team, said: “This organised crime group used a ‘small but often’ method, smuggling packages of class A and B drugs which weighed anywhere between a few grammes and several kilos.

Illicit: the drugs were sent through the post
National Crime Agency

“Our investigation found evidence of 77 such importations, but in reality there were probably far more stretching back years.

“As we started intercepting packages and they failed to arrive at their destinations Udensi became increasingly agitated. By the time we arrested him he must have begun to suspect the game was up.

Network: packages had been sent to addresses across north London
National Crime Agency

“Udensi was the ringleader, but Nwosu played an important role, organising a number of importations, and we are determined he should serve his sentence.

“I’d appeal for anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact us, either directly on 0370 496 7622 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

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