Jail for Brentford criminal 'kingpin'

A BRENTFORD drug kingpin has been jailed for almost 25 years after being caught trying to smuggle £82 million worth of cocaine across Britain.

- By LUKE DONNELLY

Redon Bushi, 32, of Cherry Crescent, had a leading role in an operation which involved multiple importers and couriers working with him. After encrypted messaging service EncroChat was cracked by international law enforcement, detectives found Bushi was looking to supply 832kg worth of cocaine. As a result, the Metropolitan Police and National Crime Agency launched a joint three-year investigation to dismantle the criminal network.

Bushi’s first courier was stopped in June 2020 when Ahmad Jabarkhill was found carrying almost £700k in cash. From this point officers were able to figure three more of his couriers - Arline Sida, Luke Ferguson and Kelvin Hoxha, showing the scale of his enterprise.

More than three years after the first arrest, police apprehended Sida and Hoxha in Brentford in August 2023.