Gang jailed for dealing cocaine to thousands of users in the City of London
Officers from City of London Police went through phone records to build a case against the gang, who ran one of the largest cocaine dealing operations in the Square Mile.
Ledgers showed they racked up sales of 410 wraps of cocaine per week, worth more than £14,000.
The drugs dealing line was originally set up during the Covid lockdowns and used the Top Gear logo on WhatsApp, City of London Police said.
It was taken down after one member was arrested and police could begin analysing phone records.
Detective Constable Matt Cooper said: 'This was a serious and sophisticated drug supply operation which would have resulted in large quantities of cocaine being sold over an extended period of time.
'This was one of the longest running and biggest cocaine lines in the City of London.
'We will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt and tackle serious and organised crime groups and these sentences demonstrate our commitment to putting criminals involved in drug lines and drug supply behind bars.'
At Inner London Crown Court on Thursday, head of the gang Nathan Samuels, 57, of Cornwall Road, Waterloo, in central London, was jailed for nine years for the supply of cocaine.
Three of the gang's couriers were also jailed for the supply of cocaine.
Black cab driver Michael Redgrave, 56, also of Cornwall Road, was sentenced to two years and nine months; Aaron Bretao 43, of Skinner Street, Clerkenwell, central London, to three years; and Martin Gupta, 38, of Fairgreen Court, Barnet, north London, to four years and three months.
Matthew Samuels, 33, of Rotherhithe New Road, Bermondsey, south-east London, admitted possession with intent to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cannabis, and was found guilty of being involved in the supply of cocaine. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison.
Josh Atherton, 24, of Hemingford Road, Islington, north London, was given sentences suspended for two years, of two years for the supply of cocaine and four months for possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid.
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