Crime group who concealed Class A drugs in frozen fish imports sentenced

Four members of an organised crime network involved in plans to flood the UK with hundreds of kilograms of drugs hidden in frozen fish deliveries have been sent to jail following a Met Police investigation.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 25 September, four men were sentenced for their roles in multiple drug trafficking conspiracies which were uncovered through conversations on encrypted – and now dismantled – platform EncroChat.

The sentences were handed out as follows:

A] Samuel Tokeley, 57 (15.09.1969), of Alicante, Spain was sentenced to 22 years

B] Scott Richards, 51 (17.01.1975), of Browning Drive, Wickford was sentenced to 14 and a half years

C] Scott Unwin, 52 (06.07.1974), of Reede Road, Dagenham was sentenced to 13 years

D] Nicholas Shilling, 63 (07.08.1963), of Dubai, UAE was sentenced to 22 years

All four were given custodial sentences for conspiracy to import Class A drugs.

In addition, Unwin and Richards were sentenced for conspiracy to acquire criminal property, while Richards and Tokeley were also sentenced for the import and supply of Class B drugs. Tokeley was the only one sentenced for conspiracy to be concerned in criminal property.

It follows a long-running investigation by specialist teams within the Met, which was launched in 2020 after intelligence from the encrypted communications platform EncroChat was shared with police through the National Crime Agency, who supported the investigation throughout, along with international partners.

Officers analysing the EncroChat material identified the defendants through detailed examination of the message content, mobile phone evidence, surveillance and other supporting intelligence.

Met detectives identified Tokeley, Richards, Unwin and Shilling as key figures within the organised criminal network, with Tokeley acting as a central figure to coordinate the large-scale importation and wholesale supply of what detectives would determine was hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and ketamine into the UK.

Messages recovered from encrypted devices revealed discussions around the movement of cocaine, ketamine, large sums of cash and cryptocurrency, as well as plans to exploit legitimate businesses and transport routes to hide their criminal activity.

A significant strand of the investigation centred on one conspiracy – termed the "Fish Conspiracy" – which involved Tokeley, Unwin and Shilling plotting to import approximately 600kg of cocaine hidden within frozen fish shipments from South America, using Unwin’s legitimate fish business at Billingsgate Market to receive the load.

The importation alone had an estimated UK value of more than £20 million.

Although encrypted messages showed how the group discussed payments, shipping documentation, logistics and contacts in Ecuador responsible for sourcing the cocaine, the importation never happened.

The investigation also uncovered separate conspiracies to import industrial quantities of ketamine, with phone messages revealing plans for hundreds of kilograms of ketamine to be sourced, processed on the continent and imported into the UK for wholesale distribution.

A/Detective Chief Inspector Dean Grafton from Met's Specialist Crime, said:

"This investigation exposed an organised crime group operating on an industrial scale, attempting to hide their criminal activity where people were going about their daily business. with links stretching from South America and mainland Europe to the streets of the UK.

“The defendants believed that encrypted communication platforms would protect them as they discussed vast quantities of drugs, laundering criminal profits and exploiting legitimate businesses to facilitate their offending.

“Through meticulous analysis of EncroChat data and close collaboration with the National Crime Agency and our international law enforcement partners, we were able to identify those responsible and gather overwhelming evidence against them, to ensure they were put behind bars.

“These sentences reflect the scale and sophistication of this criminality and demonstrate our relentless determination to pursue organised crime groups wherever they operate."

On Thursday, 31 August 2023, Met officers arrested Richards and Unwin in addresses in Colchester and Dagenham. During the operation officers seized cash, mobile devices and other assets believed to be linked to criminal activity.

At the same time, international enquiries led to the arrests of Tokeley and Shilling in Spain. On 7 August 2023, officers from the Spanish National Police, supported by the National Crime Agency and Met Police, arrested Shilling in Ibiza and Tokeley in Alicante under extradition warrants. Both men were later returned to the UK to face justice.

At Woolwich Crown Court, Tokeley pleaded guilty on Monday, 23 March, while Richards, Unwin and Shilling were convicted by a jury following a trial which concluded in May.

Co-defendant Nicky Bowers was sentenced to 16 years in January after being convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, conspiracy to import Class B drugs and conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

The sentencing of the gang builds on the Met’s work to dismantle organised crime groups. These gangs were disrupted 21,231 times last year, a 64 per cent increased compared to the previous year, resulting in more arrests, prosecutions and seizures of drugs and weapons.