Tarian probe sees man jailed for couriering cash and drugs
Nathaniel Armani, 46, from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, was sentenced at Merthyr Crown Court on Tuesday, May 6.
He was found guilty of couriering cash and drugs on behalf of an organised crime group (OCG).
Armani was caught as part of Operation Tender, a proactive investigation led by Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) for southern Wales.
The investigation focused on the supply of Class A and Class B drugs into the southern Wales region.
Armani acted as a courier for an OCG operating from a base in the Metropolitan Police area.
The group was responsible for the wholesale supply of multi-kilo quantities of cocaine and cannabis throughout the UK.
On Thursday, October 12, 2023, at the request of Tarian ROCU, officers from Cumbria Police intercepted Armani as he drove his Audi A8 south on the M6.
A search of his vehicle found £200,000 in cash and multiple mobile phones.
His mobile phones were examined and found to contain evidence, including images and videos, of his criminal activities and his connection to the OCG.
Armani had already pleaded guilty to money laundering and drug supply offences at earlier hearings.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, namely 11kgs of cocaine, being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs, namely 603kgs of cannabis, and transferring criminal property, namely just under £1.7 million in cash.
The combined wholesale value of the drugs supplied by Armani was just under £3 million.
His Honour, Judge Jeremy Jenkins KC, called it a 'quite staggering amount of cannabis.'
Detective Constable Sean Meyrick, of Tarian ROCU, said: "The arrest of Armani demonstrates that Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit will pursue offenders across the UK."
He called the sentencing a 'significant' disruption to organised criminality and said it 'has had a knock-on effect on the supply and distribution of Class A and B drugs into the southern Wales region.'
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