Gang guilty of cocaine plot

CLASS A DRUGS HIDDEN IN EMPTY GAS CANISTERS

- By OWEN YOUNGER

A NORTH East criminal gang has been jailed for a combined 141 years after a plot to import more than £68m worth of cocaine.

The National Crime Agency worked with the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) and Northumbria Police to investigate the offenders.

Multiple loads of the Class A drug were concealed in empty gas canisters, with the criminals using the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to communicate.

Reporting restrictions were lifted at Newcastle Crown Court after three of the men were sentenced, so the details of the cases, some of which date back to the Covid-19 pandemic, can now be released.

Among those jailed was Kevin Taylor, 43, from Newcastle, who will spend 27 years behind bars for his role in attempting to import 200 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £68.75m, and his part in the importation of 172kg hidden in gas containers.