10 men were sentenced for their dodgy dealings at Chelmsford Crown Court on September 10, after encrypted chats led to the discovery of their criminal operations.
An 11th man will be sentenced in October for his role in the crimes.
The Organised Crime Partnership were originally investigating 57-year-old Lee McClenaghan of Stewart Road, Chelmsford, and 55-year-old Lea Talbot, of Godman Road, Chadwell St Mary, Thurrock.
McClenaghan (left) and Talbot (right)(Image: NCA / OCP)
The pair discussed their illegal activity on EncroChat, with McClenaghan found to be the mastermind behind a two-year long plan to smuggle the drugs onboard a boat entered into an annual sailing race.
Ian Magee, 68, of Fortinbras Way, Chelmsford, was employed to source and sail a yacht called the ‘Ocean Magic’ in the 2019 sail race, which investigators believe was a dummy run.
However, the full scale of their criminality was revealed after the race was cancelled in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plan was changed, instead seeking to smuggle multi-tonne quantities of cocaine from South America in shipping containers of fresh produce.
McClenaghan also explored the possibility of smuggling large quantities of cannabis from Morocco.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard that McClenaghan arranged two separate importations of cannabis to the UK, from Canada and South Africa, totalling 676 kilos.
In March 2022, Border Force officers searched a machine lathe at Tilbury Port and discovered 408 kilos of the drug, which had been smuggled from South Africa.
McClenaghan was again the main driver behind this, assisted by 61-year-old Daniel Braithwaite, of St Hilda’s Mews, Westcliff-on-Sea, and 61-year-old Paul Tozer of Kings Wood Park, Epping.
Tozer’s textile business was to be the delivery address intended for the consignment.
The importation was organised by 60-year-old Kane Ward, of Boyd Close, Upminster, who worked with 52-year-old Karl Richter of Fourth Avenue, Swansea, who liaised with a South African contact.
In July 2023, 268 kilos of cannabis was discovered by Border Force officers in Southampton in a consignment of tool boxes that had been imported from Vancouver.
This importation was assisted by Talbot and 41-year-old Stephen Persaud, of Church Road, Upminster, a freight forwarder whose company managed loads into various ports.
Also responsible for the importation was 37-year-old Sundeep Grewal of Park View Gardens, Grays, Essex, who operated a food business in Tilbury which was used a delivery address for the importation. They were again assisted by Tozer.
John Campbell, 69, of Willesden Lane, NW6, was found to have created fraudulent payments to release the consignment, as well as having offered services to criminals like McClenaghan.
McClenaghan, Talbot, Braithwaite, Magee, Campbell and Ward were jailed for 30 years, 23 years, 22 years, 20 years, ten years, and six years and six months respectively at Chelmsford Crown Court on September 11.
Richter is due to be sentenced on October 16.
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Det Insp Richard Smith said: “The cocaine smuggling plan conceived by McClenaghan and Talbot was daring and would have been incredibly lucrative had it succeeded.
“Its failure deprived organised criminals of the profits this large amount of cocaine would have generated, and prevented communities suffering the violence and exploitation associated with it.
“Undeterred, this OCG diversified into importing huge quantities of cannabis, operations which McClenaghan controlled at every level.”
