Irish men among arrests in drugs empire raid

Two Irish people are reportedly among those arrested in England as part of a British police investigation into a huge drugs empire.

Police will today question 23 people arrested during raids which saw Scotland Yard use a mechanical digger to smash into the luxury home of one of the suspected kingpins behind a £100m (€135m) cocaine empire.

Officers swarmed inside after a hole was smashed in a wall surrounding the fortified £3m (€4m) detached west London property.

The dawn raid was one of more than 30 that took place throughout yesterday at homes and businesses across London and surrounding counties.

About 110 kilos of cocaine, with a street value of £5.5m (€7.4m), were seized as 23 people were arrested and several guns recovered.

Twenty of those were detained on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering, while three were arrested for suspected immigration offences.

Among those arrested were men with British, Israeli, Iraqi, Egyptian and Irish backgrounds.

'Biggest-ever raids'

Scotland Yard said it was the largest simultaneous set of raids it has ever undertaken, involving 520 officers and taking seven weeks to plan.

Detective Superintendent Steve Richardson, who was responsible for the operation, described the gang as “ruthless and determined criminals” who profited from illegal drugs.

He said: “We have targeted the key players in a serious and organised criminal network, culminating in a huge blow to the illegal drugs industry in the UK.

“These criminals have been living the lives of wealthy businessmen through criminal activity and today we have put a stop to this.

“We believe this network has been supplying drugs around the country, earning millions of pounds every week.”

The operation, codenamed Eaglewood, followed six months of surveillance and information-gathering by Scotland Yard’s elite specialist intelligence section.

Police targeted the heads of several well-established gangs who came together to create a “clearing house” to launder drug profits.

Detectives said some of the men lived lives of luxury similar to Premier League footballers, driving sports cars, frequenting London’s best restaurants and jet-setting around the world.

Mr Richardson said criminals laundered more than £100m (€135m) of drug money through a network of foreign exchange bureaus and other financial businesses.

Cash problems

The gang's success at selling drugs created problems with the quantity of money they were forced to handle.

As a result, members would exchange suitcases full of €500 banknotes, the world’s highest value note.

The cash, now in more manageable smaller and lighter packages, would then be taken to Europe and invested in property and bank accounts.

Police said the gang used a taxi business, based in a shabby corrugated iron and breezeblock building, as their headquarters.

Officers said up to £4m (€5.4m) passed through the innocuous taxi company every week as it also operated as a legitimate business.

Police said the mechanical digger was brought in because of extra security at the double-fronted house, in London.

Officers used circular saws and sledgehammers to break through metal gates over the front and rear doors as a helicopter lit the scene with a spotlight.

The house was equipped with CCTV cameras and several prestige cars, including a Porsche, two Mercedes and a Hummer, were parked outside.

A 40-year-old man and another younger man, believed to be his son, were arrested at the property and taken to a north London police station.

Other properties in central London, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire (all in England) were also raided and searched by teams of officers.

A 45-year-old man and a woman of unknown age were arrested at another property where police found a gun and drugs.

A 54-year-old man of Egyptian origin, suspected of acting as a financial middle man for the gang, was arrested at a terraced family house.

Elsewhere, another 54-year-old man was arrested after a gun, £2,000 (€2,700) and a pepper spray canister were found.

More than 20 people arrested

Police revealed more than 20 people had been arrested prior to yesterday, as officers seized almost £3m (€4m), 70kg of cocaine and four guns, including a silencer.

Officers refused to say where in the world the cocaine and cannabis were imported from, but said the supply was sold on across the UK.

As the raids took place, police moved to freeze bank accounts and access to properties across mainland Europe.