OPERATION GOLIATH: On 9 March 2026, Ben Close leading Lucinda Wilmott-Lascelles concluded the prosecution of 12 defendants who were involved in a conspiracy which encompassed the importation and distribution of approximately a metric tonne of cocaine across the United Kingdom, alongside significant quantities of heroin and MDMA.
The defendants received combined custodial sentences of approaching 150 years’ imprisonment for their roles in the conspiracy which operated throughout 2023 and early 2024 and involved coordinated activity between international couriers, UK-based organisers and regional distributors.
The evidence demonstrated that cocaine was regularly imported by an Albanian organised crime group into the UK using Romanian-registered vans travelling through Calais and Dover, often fitted with concealed compartments designed to evade detection. On one occasion in June 2023, police intercepted a van near the Touchwood shopping centre in Solihull containing 227 kilograms of high-purity cocaine, concealed in hidden overhead compartments within the vehicle. Surveillance and communications evidence showed that couriers arriving from mainland Europe would meet UK-based members of the network who arranged the onward distribution of the drugs, frequently coordinating handovers through encrypted messaging platforms and coded instructions.
The conspiracy involved multiple collection and distribution events across the Midlands and in the Canary Wharf area of London. The investigation culminated in the seizure of 100 kilograms of cocaine from a van in the Isle of Dogs, alongside arrests of several key participants. The evidence showed the organised crime group primarily imported and distributed cocaine.
