The remaining three members of a gang of heroin traffickers began prison sentences today after a Channel Tunnel ‘suicide run’ when £30m worth of the drug stuffed into the back of a BMW was simply driven past Customs men.
The 356 kilos of heroin – packed into 13 cardboard boxes – was placed in the rear and piled on the back seats of the car, belonging to the smuggler’s elderly mother, and is believed to be the largest ever UK police seizure of its kind.
Unfortunately for the gang they were being monitored by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Central Task force and were arrested during a handover at a motorway service station.
They are: (l. to r.) Dutchman Patrick Kuster, 37, already serving to 26 years; Harminder Chana, 32, of Upton Lane, East Ham, who received 17 years; Atif Khan, 35, of Brixham Gardens, Ilford, Essex, 15 1/2 years and businessman Abdul Matalib Shammin Rob, 30, of Cavendish Gardens, Ilford, 23 years.
All either pleaded guilty or were convicted at Kingston Crown Court of conspiracy to supply heroin as a result of the Met’s Operation Frant.
Kuster was the courier who drove the uncut heroin from Holland – gambling he would not be stopped at checkpoints – even parking the car (pic. far r.) unattended outside a Calais B&B overnight.
On April 3, last year, Kuster met Chana off the M20 in Kent and police watched as three of the boxes – containing 50 kilos of heroin - were loaded into his Seat Leon.
Officers swooped and Kuster said: “My life is over,” when cautioned, with Chana claiming: “"Look officer I'm going to be honest with you, I've never done anything like this before but I'm trying to get back into work and I was getting paid to do it."
Later that day, detectives arrested Khan outside his home and he was found in possession of a set of keys for a 'safe house' in York Close, Beckton.
A search of this address uncovered a blue Ikea bag containing 20 kilos of cocaine bulking agent Mannitol.
A set of electronic scales, a metal press, a counterfeit money discriminator, numerous mobile phones, latex gloves and written correspondence were also found at the address.
He confessed he was expecting to receive the 50 kilos of heroin collected by Chana.
Rob was arrested at his home on November 11. He was responsible for arranging and financing three boxes of the imported heroin.
In April 2000, a Belgian court convicted Rob in his absence of a multi-million pound drugs supply and sentenced him to six years imprisonment.
On October 3, 2007, at Utrecht District Court, Holland, Kuster was acquitted of transporting heroin from Holland to the UK.
Detective Inspector Marion Ryan said; "This is the biggest heroin seizure we know of, by any UK police force.
“Today's result is testimony to how the Met has prevented the serious consequences this conspiracy could have had on people's lives.
“An average addict consumes 0.438 kilos of heroin in 12 months, so this seizure would be enough to keep more than 8,000 addicts in habit for a year.
"This gang had a flagrant disregard for law, blatantly transporting these dangerous drugs in the back of their cars.
“The Met will not tolerate the use and supply of class A drugs and we continue to tackle any organised criminal networks involved in this highly illegal activity."
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