CLASS A DRUG IMPORTATION TRIAL CONVICTIONS

John Ojakovoh led Charles Drinnan in securing the conviction last week at Kingston Crown Court of a Heathrow Airport security manager and two other men seeking to import 22 kilos of cocaine in two bags carried by drug couriers arriving from Colombia. The security manager, apprehended with the bags in a Heathrow vehicle, said that he was innocently processing unattended bags, and that an encrypted telephone in his possession (which could not be accessed) was for purchasing ‘dodgy’ tobacco for a side business. The other two men denied conspiring with the couriers (who had previously pleaded guilty), one claiming innocent involvement, the other disputing telephone attribution. However, after hearing evidence from the painstaking NCA investigation, including surveillance, CCTV, telematics, ANPR, and telephone and cell site analysis, and John Ojakovoh’s cross-examination of the defendants, the jury convicted all three men in the fifth week of the trial. They await sentencing.

John Ojakovoh and Charles Drinnan were instructed for the prosecution by Tim Burton of the CPS Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate.