A drugs ringleader has been jailed for his part in importing 127kg of cocaine into the UK.

Marius Bucys, 43, of Neasham Road, Dagenham, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months on December 15 at Kingston Crown Court for conspiracy to import class A drugs.

Bucys was the latest to be convicted after Metropolitan Police officers dismantled an organised crime group in November 2020.

Officers gathered enough evidence to show he was using encrypted devices to organise the transportation of drugs from oversees to various UK destinations. 

Bucys’ offending began in 2020, where he acted as the ringleader for a wider drug network, arranging travel and logistics for importation of the drugs to the UK.

As a result, at least 127kg of cocaine was brought into the UK.

Met officers in south London closed in on Bucys after European partners accessed an encrypted communications network called Encrochat in 2020 – passing data to them via the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The officers also trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV showing lorry drivers stopping off at different locations up and down the M25 to pick up the drugs.

When officers raided his address, they found a notebook containing details of the importations.

Brothers, Jonathan Lynn, 40, of Epsom and Nicholas Lynn, 35, of Swanley, who worked closely with Bucys at the top of the network, were also caught.

They pled guilty to conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of Class A drugs in December 2023.

The investigation into those at the top of this network, also led to 12 Lithuanian drivers being charged and convicted of conspiracy to import Class A drugs into the UK.

The criminal network brought over an estimated 100kg of cocaine in the year 2020 - an estimated 8 million pounds street value.

The Lynn brothers will be sentenced on 25 January 2024.

Met Detective Constable Leon Ure, said: “Through the dedication and hard work of the team, this drugs network has been completely disrupted and those involved have been brought to justice.

“Thanks to the extensive evidence collected by officers, we have been able to secure guilty pleas and sentences for those involved in this network.

“This investigation is a great example of the extraordinary work undertaken by the Met’s highly skilled and dedicated detectives in order to identify, apprehend and prosecute organised criminals.

"Drugs ruin lives and we continue to work to stop those bringing them into this country illegally. I’m pleased that vast quantities of Class A drugs which were bound for London and beyond, have now been taken off the streets and significantly reduced the devastating impact drugs have on communities.”