A ring of high-end cocaine dealers behind one of the biggest drug operations ever seen in the City of London has been dismantled.
The gang, headed by a 57-year-old grandfather who fronted as an antiques dealer, had more than 10,000 clients on their books.
It’s thought their line, called Top Gear or City Gear, was particularly popular with wealthy Londoners who work and party in the Square Mile.
Detectives said the purity of their cocaine was up to 60% higher than the street average, allowing them to charge higher prices.
Ledgers showed they made sales of £14,480 in just one week, suggesting they could have netted as much as £728,000 a year.
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‘This was a serious and sophisticated drug supply operation which would have resulted in large quantities of cocaine being sold over an extended period of time,’ said DC Matt Cooper of the City of London Police’s Serious Organised Crime Team.
‘This was one of the longest running and biggest cocaine lines in the City of London.’
Head honcho Nathan Samuels led the operation while reportedly running a a business selling antiques and jewellery and living in a council house near Waterloo Station.
He was helped by his son Matthew, 33, and Islington-based 24-year-old Josh Atherton.
The drugs were couriered to clients by Aaron Bretao, 43, Martin Gupta, 38, and Michael Redgrave, 56, a licensed taxi driver who used his black cab to get to drop-offs.
Detectives began penetrating the operation after catching another courier, Gary Miller, 36, from Islington, making a cocaine delivery.
Using his phone records they were able to piece together details of customers and fellow couriers.
The bust was unusual because it reportedly involved almost no large-scale drug seizures.
According to MailOnline, the couriers were arrested shortly after making drop-offs in the summer of 2023.
Cocaine was recovered from stunned customers, while call data and delivery locations allowed officers to make arrests without the couriers having drugs on them.
The seizure of more phones then enabled detectives to uncover details about the more senior members of the operation.
Samuels and his son were arrested simultaneously around two months after their couriers were arrested.
DC Cooper added: ‘We will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt and tackle serious and organised crime groups and these sentences demonstrate our commitment to putting criminals involved in drug lines and drug supply behind bars.
‘We hope that this sends out a clear message to those involved in the illegal drugs trade, as well as a reassurance to members of the public, that we will take action against those criminals and bring them to justice.’
The six were sentenced today at London’s Inner Crown Court after being convicted of supplying cocaine.
Samuels senior was jailed today for nine years, while his son was sentenced to three-and-a-half years.
Redgrave, of Cornwall Road, SE1, was jailed to for two years and nine months.
Bretao received three years in jail, while Gupta received four years and three months.
Atherton, who also pleaded guilty of possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid, was jailed for two years.
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