Two Croydon men who helped smuggle cocaine into England have been jailed.

Preetam Mungrah, 44 of Woodville Road, Thornton Heat and 48-year-old Michael Sutherland, of Sunnybank Road, South Norwood were part of a drug smuggling group that used corrupt baggage handlers to import at least £16 million worth of drugs through Heathrow Airport.

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Michael Sutherland

Mungrah's role in the group was to act as the middle man between one of the British Airways baggage handlers and the group's organisers, while Sutherland was one of four who arranged for cocaine to be flown in from Brazil on at least six separate occasions.

NCA regional head of investigations Brendan Foreman called it a "a sophisticated plot."

"At the centre of it was a man who used his privileged access to Heathrow and insider knowledge of the airport’s systems for criminal purposes.

“This kind of corruption threatens the security of the UK border and the public at large which is why the NCA and its partners are tackling it as a priority.

“Border Force, Airport authorities and the airline community were vital in helping us to stop this organised crime group in its tracks and pull together the evidence which lead to them being sentenced to significant jail time today.”

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Preetam Mungrah

At a hearing at Southwark Crown Court today (April 17), Mungrah was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and cannabis in October 2017 and sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison.

Sutherland received a greater sentence for his role in the drug ring.

At the same hearing he was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply in February 2018 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Border Force Heathrow director Nick Jariwalla said: “Border Force officers played a crucial role in this lengthy investigation, helping to bring these individuals to justice.

“They used their in-depth knowledge of the infrastructure at Heathrow to provide invaluable insight to colleagues at the National Crime Agency and the final operation to arrest suspects was very much a joint effort.

“This is just one example of how Border Force officers keep restricted and prohibited items out of the country and prevent them getting into the hands of organised crime groups.”