Detective Inspector Daniel Barker, from ERSOU’s ROCU, said: “It’s clear that this group had put significant thought and planning into how they could best bring class A drugs into the UK, and they went to great lengths in attempting to hide their illicit activities.
Detective Inspector Barker said police worked closely with other UK police forces and agencies abroad “to ensure that those involved in serious criminality such as this are apprehended and brought to justice.”.
Four members of the group have now been convicted, after Loughton man Tomas Bauza, 44, on Tuesday at St Albans Crown Court was found guilty following a trial.
An investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) found the gang liaised with contacts abroad to bring in the drugs, with flights leaving from the Cherbourg area of northern France.
Bishop’s Stortford man Arjan Lisaj, 33, who worked at the car wash, was arrested in September 2024 alongside Bauza and Piecia a short distance from the business in Spellbrook, Hertfordshire.
