Jonathan Strogylos, a ringleader who organised the importation and supply of Class A drugs disguised in printer ink, has been jailed at Isleworth Crown Court.
Strogylos, 36, was one of a group of 12 men involved in a large-scale operation to supply cocaine and was imprisoned for 31 years on Thursday.
Strogylos ran and controlled an importation route under the guise of importing printer toner cartridges, which he used to smuggle his own drugs and offered this service to other organised crime groups, who would pay for their drugs to be concealed within these consignments and imported at a fee per kilo.
The cocaine was brought to a location in the Netherlands and was then concealed within printer toner cartridge pallets. They were transported to the UK by courier service and delivered to the Oldbury Safestore unit, which the organised crime group controlled.
The drugs were then distributed from this location. This happened on at least three occasions in 2020. The total quantity of cocaine imported in this way in less than three weeks was at a street value of up to around £132 million.
This case arose as a result of Operation Venetic, a wider, NCA-led investigation into encrypted EncroChat phone conversations. The operation uncovered a large volume of encrypted messages, which evidenced that Strogylos and others had been running the importation route weekly for three years.
Giorgina Venturella of the Crown Prosecution Service said, “Jonathan Strogylos refused to admit his involvement in this organised drug importation and distribution operation.
“The messages uncovered in this case made it clear that the organised crime group, led by Strogylos, had a sophisticated process in place to import and subsequently manoeuvre colossal quantities of cocaine across the UK.
“Our Proceeds of Crime team have now commenced confiscation proceedings to ensure the group do not financially benefit from their criminality.”
