A notorious criminal – who survived an Old Bailey murder trial and a gangland shooting – was caged for 11 ½ years on Friday for plotting to sell cocaine from a Brixton tyre shop.
The nine-strong gang was jailed for a total of 81 years after police seized £160,000 worth of drugs, plus £65,000 cash.
Ex-market trader Anthony Brindle, 45, of Harris Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to conspiring to supply class A drugs.
Brindle,(pictured) who was cleared in May 1992 with his brother Patrick, 47, of assassinating Ahmed ‘Abbi’ Abdullah, 30, - shot in a Walworth betting shop - himself survived a hit man’s bullets in September 1995.
Also convicted of conspiring to supply class A drugs were: John Cobbina, 43, of Carlysle Courts, Chelsea Harbour, jailed for 12 years.
Tony Zacharia, 33, of Court Bushes Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey, jailed for thirteen years and eight months.
Paul Benstead, 51, of Holfields House, Hazel Wood Crescent, Ladbroke Grove, jailed for six years.
Jude Streeks, 52, of Pulross Road, Brixton, jailed for six years.
Andre Clementson, 33, of no fixed abode, jailed for 8 years.
Francis Opoku, 57, of Manour Avenue, Brockley, jailed for four years.
Zakey Zacharia, 56, of Copsleigh Avenue, Redhill, Surrey, jailed for 10 years and 9 months.
Clifton Fritz, 28, of Logan House, Grange Road, Sutton, jailed for 8 years and a half years.
The court heard how the gang used Zak's Tyres in Pulross Road, Brixton, as the hub of their operation.
Two further properties – a South Kensington flat in Manson Place and Brixton house - were used to prepare and package drugs worth £160,000.
Police searches of these addresses uncovered a hydraulic press, large quantities of cocaine and cutting agents, used to bulk-out the drugs.
Further searches of the defendants' homes uncovered £65,000 cash, some of which was hidden behind a sofa.
Detective Sergeant Richard Noble, of the Middle Market Drugs Partnership said: "In undertaking this operation the Metropolitan Police Service, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and City of London Police on the MMDP have worked tirelessly with local police in Lambeth to dismantle a group of criminals, who have caused great harm to the area through the supply of cocaine.
“These prison sentences should go a long way in reassuring the public that we are dedicated to removing drugs and those supplying them from the streets of the capital.”
Brindle was shot three times on September 20, 1995 outside his home in Christopher Close, Rotherhithe, by ex-IRA man Michael Boyle, 48, now serving life for attempted murder.
Undercover cops - some disguised as gasmen - were tailing the gunman and their failure to prevent the hit triggered an unsuccessful court action by Brindle who sued the Metropolitan Police.
Family and friends packed the public gallery at the end of the three-day sentencing hearing with some leaving the courtroom in tears as the sentences were handed down.
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