Brum gang nailed for £64m cocaine racket

POLICE CRACK HUGE SMUGGLING RING AFTER 600KG OF DRUGS ARE SEIZED

- NAOMI DESOUZA News Reporter

A WEST Midlands drugs gang has been jailed for trying to smuggle £64 million worth of cocaine across the English Channel into the UK.

Stephen Lawlor, Daniel Bowen, Stephen Lock, Reiss Stanley, Kieran Farrell, Sean Feenan and Thomas Walker were all sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on September 12.

Five members of the ring lived in Solihull and Birmingham, the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) confirmed.

On July 8 2024, police received a report of suspicious activity involving a RHIB (inflatable boat) and a van near a block of flats on the River Itchen in Southampton.

Response officers intercepted the van fleeing the scene, driven by Reiss Stanley, and discovered approximately 150kg of cocaine inside.

Further quantities were found on the boat and in total, officers seized over 600kg of cocaine.