Five members of a major drugs gang which used 'ghost warehouses' and lorries to smuggle large quantities of Class A drugs have been jailed for a combined 84 years.
It comes following a Met Police investigation into an organised criminal network responsible for flooding the UK with cocaine and heroin under the cover of legitimate haulage routes from mainland Europe.
The operation has now been dismantled, with officers seizing more than 300 kilograms of cocaine and more than 60 kilograms of heroin, with an estimated wholesale value of almost £8 million pounds, over the course of their investigation.
It is believed that the true scale of the operation was much larger, with more than a tonne of Class A drugs potentially being moved into Britain in ordinary HGV deliveries.
Lorries arriving at UK ports would divert from their legitimate routes and pull into so-called “ghost warehouses” hidden in industrial estates in locations such as Slough and Daventry, with drugs being secretly offloaded before the lorries continued to their intended destinations.
At the warehouses, drugs would then be repackaged and distributed onward, being sent across the UK using coded messages, passwords and pre-arranged collection points.
Men were allegedly flown in from Poland to assist with the operation, often using hire cars to make short trips to distribute wholesale quantities to drug dealers.
The investigation began in July 2024, after surveillance of a suspicious handover of boxes between cars linked to the network.
A shipment containing five kilos of cocaine and 25 kilos of heroin was intercepted shortly after, providing the police with an early breakthrough and kickstarting months of surveillance, phone analysis and cross-border intelligence work.
In August, a warehouse in Slough was raided leading to the seizure of 103kg of cocaine and 37kg of heroin, with CCTV and phone data later suggesting that the warehouse had been used for at least ten similar importations in the previous three months, each involving huge quantities of drugs.
A further 20kg of cocaine was seized in Leicester later that month.
The group continued its operations despite the disruptions, with ringleaders Andrzej Walas and Robert Francuz securing a second “ghost warehouse” in Daventry in March 2025.
The following month, officers identified a lorry from the Netherlands diverting to the warehouse, and discovered a monumental haul of around 300kg of cocaine on site, with bricks of drugs found both inside the building and linked vehicles.
Lorry driver Dawid Gasiewski was arrested, as were Jagjit Singh and Jamie Allen. Walas and Francuz were detained the next day, with detectives later discovering attempts to conceal their roles through the use of false identities.
All five men received lengthy prison terms at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday.
Gasiewski and Singh had previously pleaded guilty, with Gasiewski entering pleas in October 2025 and Singh pleading guilty on the first day of trial.
Detective Constable Leon Ure, from Specialist Crime South, who led the investigation, said: “This case has centred on a criminal venture planned on a gigantic commercial scale which would have likely caused violence and destruction on our streets.
“These offenders organised a significant drug line into London and the surrounding counties over a prolonged period of time.
“If people wonder why we are so relentless in going after those involved in drug supply, it’s because this criminality fuels violence and rips families and communities apart.
“We are very grateful to our partners for their assistance. Our coordinated response has resulted in the disruption of a major threat to public safety and has taken this group of criminals off our streets.”
Convictions:
Andrzej Walas, 48 - Sentenced to 26 years imprisonment for multiple offences relating to the importation of Class A drugs
Robert Francuz, 43 - Sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for multiple offences relating to the importation of Class A drugs
Dawid Gasiewski, 32 - Sentenced to 14 years and four months imprisonment
Jamie Allen, 29 - Sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and failing to disclose protected information
Jagjit Singh, 30 - Sentenced to 10 years and six months imprisonment
