London: Major Cocaine Raids 19 Men in Court
By J. P. Anderson
Nineteen people have been sent for trial in connection with a suspected ￂﾣ100m drug cartel.
They were charged with drug and money laundering offences after being arrested in dawn raids on more than 30 addresses in London and the Home Counties on Wednesday.
The defendants appeared in twos and threes before London's City of Westminster Magistrates Court.
Each will next appear in custody at London's Southwark Crown Court via video link for a plea and case management hearing on May 7, except car mechanic Keith Tayler of St Michael's Avenue, Wembley, who appears on conditional bail.
The raids took place in London and the Home Counties on Wednesday and, in one case, officers used a JCB to smash through a security wall at the suspect's house.
It was the largest simultaneous set of raids that the Metropolitan Police had carried out, involving 520 officers and taking seven weeks to plan.
Several guns and about 110kg of cocaine, with a street value of ￂﾣ5.5m, were recovered by officers.
As the raids took place, police sought to freeze bank accounts and access to properties across Europe.
The defendants dealt with were: businessman Jean Claude Frigieri, 53, of West Molesey, Surrey; fireman Simon Ford, 38, of Chertsey, Surrey; IT consultant James Ainscough, 32, of Twickenham, south west London; businessman Maythem Al Ansari, 39, of Hillingdon, west London.
Taxi firm owner Eyad Iktilat, 44, of Hayes, Middlesex; driver David Scofield, 48, of Masefield Avenue, Stanmore; painter Richard Hill, 63, of Saltram Crescent, Maida Vale; scrap metal merchant Eugene Maguire, 44, of Kilburn High Road, north west London; company owner David Clohessy, 39, of Kilburn High Road; student Aslan Ibrahim, 24, of Chalton Street, north London; taxi firm employee Patrick Dowling, 47, of Salisbury Street, St John's Wood; company owner Stuart Wright, 46, of Lyons Place, St John's Wood; Tina Mullins, 40, of Clifton Hill, St John's Wood; HGV driver Kevin Panrucker, 36, of The Old Boat House, Chertsey and administrator Stephanie Sin Ting So, 21, of the same address also appeared in court.
Also in the dock were: unemployed Dennis Carpenter, 53, of Beckenham, south east London; web designer Amman Salhan, 25, of Harlington, west London and solicitor Rajesh Shah, 39, of Watford, Hertfordshire. |
