Gang smuggled £200m worth of cocaine into the UK in Colombian banana crates

“We basically watched the criminals open the different parts of the shipment where we knew the cocaine was hidden and where they thought it was,” Coles said. “At that point our officers came in and arrested them.”

During a search of the warehouse, officers found various boxes, cell phones, empty suitcases and a loaded black Turkish Ozkursan revolver.

Zhutiev, Diko and Kuci were arrested and later charged with importing Class A drugs, as well as possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Diko and Kuci pleaded guilty to the charges, but Zhutev denied any involvement and was cleared of weapons and ammunition charges after a trial at London’s Old Bailey last summer.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on the drug importation charges and a retrial was held this summer. In September, Zhutev changed his guilty plea.

Muci, whom the country’s competition authority described as one of the main organizers of the scheme, was found guilty of smuggling and supplying Class A drugs following a trial that ended on Thursday.

Ebeja – who the NCA said was said to have acted as a drug spotter and driver – was found guilty of smuggling Class A drugs at the same trial, but the jury returned no verdict on the supply charge.

Judge Trowler lifted a restriction on sentencing reporting after prosecutors announced they would not seek a retrial on outstanding charges.

Coles said there was no indication that the previous owners of Agro Food Ltd had any knowledge of this criminal activity.

He said neither Zhutev, Kuci nor Diko had a major “footprint” in the UK.

Coles added that Zhutev was determined to smuggle cocaine into the UK and “came here specifically for this purpose” looking for a legitimate company to buy from.

At first glance, he said the company continued to trade in the same way, but added: “Instead they used it to conceal the importation of cocaine.”