Six people have been jailed after a police operation uncovered one of London's largest ever 'chemsex' drug dealing rackets.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the drug dealers, all Brazlian nationals, were behind a massive operation that distributed illegal drugs including a large amounts of GBL or 'liquid ecstasy' that is linked with the chemsex drug trade.

The CPS said an estimated 2,200 litres of GBL was seized by police during the investigation, approximately valued at a staggering £2.2million and believed to be the largest-ever seizure of its kind in London.

Over the course of Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25, defendants Miguez, Libardi Da Silva, Salles, and Arruda Reis were each sentenced for numerous drug-related offences at Inner London Crown Court.

  • Miguez was sentenced to 13 years in prison
  • Libardi Da Silva was sentenced to eight years in prison
  • Salles was sentenced to eight years in prison
  • Arruda Reis was sentenced to 13 years in prison

Co-defendants Dos Passos and Braga Da Silva were previously sentenced and received six years and eight months, and three years and eight months.

The probe into the drug ring uncovered a remarkably sophisticated operation that included "high-tech delivery service where customers could get drugs quickly by moped-enabled deliveries or via courier service by parcels disguised with DHL or TNT labels..."

 

"Customers could choose from 16 drugs with the menu card reading ‘delivery starts 13h. We don’t work Sundays’.

 

"The network used Airbnb’s across the capital as temporary offices for the day to day running of the business where they would weigh, package and label the drugs ahead of distribution.

"Prior to this, the drugs were stored in storage facilities in Southwark, King’s Cross, Hoxton and Wandsworth," a statement from the CPS following the jailing of several group members earlier this week read.

Undercover police were able to expose the organization by infiltrating Whatsapp groups of clients and members, who had access to the drugs on offer after being "invited" by former members.

The police investigation showed there was some £2.4million put into bank accounts associated with the defendants – with over £960,000 paid into these accounts in cash. The drugs seized by police had also been valued at more than £3million if sold at street level.

Evidence showed that much of the proceeds were used to pay for dining at restaurants, property rentals, travel, car hire, leisure and entertainment as well as at luxury stores with more than £50,000 paid out at Harrods, Prada and Louis Vuitton.

"This was a vast and highly sophisticated drug network operating as if it were a legitimate business," Damaris Lakin, from the CPS, said.

 

"The couriers had rotas, they were paid a weekly wage, the operation had its own Airbnb offices and there were even ways to put forward employee suggestions and incentives for the month’s best drivers.

 

"There was also a menu of different drugs that customers could choose from and a customer could only purchase products from the network if they had been referred and recommended to the WhatsApp group by another member – as if part of some kind of members club.

"These convictions have been successful in bringing down a major drug network responsible for the largest seizure of ‘chem sex’ drugs in London. I hope this results in far fewer illegal and unsafe drugs on our streets."