HOWZAT

In 2007 Kedar had visited Southampton to make inquiries about a berth for Abbira and claimed to be setting up a tug business.

Weeks before the ship arrived he was watched meeting a group of Leicester men who planned to purchase and distribute the drugs.

Undercover officers looked on as a substantial amount of cash, believed to be £10,000, and a mobile phone were exchanged at a London hotel.

The Leicester gang were internet entrepreneur Anjum Nazir, 39, and brothers Mohinder Rai, 45, and Baljinder Rai, 41.

All the men were arrested in a series of co-ordinated dawn raids six days after they landed in Southampton.

The swoop, the key moment of Operation Caroche, involved officers from Soca, Hampshire Police, Leicester Police, HM Revenue and Customs and UK Border Agency.

At one Southampton hotel used by the gang, investigators discovered shipping maps that had had the markings wiped off.

Officials also found the ship's log book had not been completed and paperwork held by several of the crew was false.

The prosecution case was bolstered by damning transcripts of mobile conversations recorded by the Israeli authorities.

The men will be sentenced on Thursday at Winchester Crown Court.

Jo Jakymee, of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, said the British defendants now face confiscation proceedings for any assets they own, financial reporting orders and may be banned from travelling overseas.

Two Ukranians were cleared of any involvement in the plot.

Andy Sellers, Deputy Director of SOCA, said: “This operation was a massive success for international and national law enforcement cooperation.

“Taking out both ends of the criminal operation means that not only have we disrupted a supply route into the UK, but also a distribution network that would most likely have stretched right across the UK.”

Joanne Jakymec, Senior Lawyer, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office added: “This conviction represents 14 months of dedicated team work between several departments overcoming multiple language barriers.

“The defendants included nationals from the UK, Israel, Serbia and Ukraine, and as a result international assistance was sought from 10 different countries.”

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