Met Police catch 15kg MDMA gang who used corrupt border guard to smuggle drugs into Brixton and Clapham

Published date08 April 2024
Publication titleMyLondon (England)
A fourth person had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import drugs. The four-strong group includes Caprice Thompson, 46, Hayter Road, Brixton, who was found guilty of conspiracy to Import Class A drugs and Sinan Baki, 49, Britannia Close, Clapham, who entered a guilty plea to supplying Class A drugs. He was found not guilty of conspiracy to Import Class A drugs

Corrupt border guard Kevin Smith , 37, Mayfield Road, Portsmouth, entered a guilty plea to misconduct in public office. He too was found not guilty of conspiracy to Import Class A drugs. And David Johnson, 51, Reed Place, Clapham, previously pleaded guilty to all charges including conspiracy to Import Class A drugs.

The court heard officers found that Smith – a UK Border Force officer in Portsmouth whose job it was to search vehicles and check passports – was working with the gang. UK Border Force acted quickly with the National Crime Agency NCA to pursue this lead, with both agencies working in tandem to piece together the overwhelming evidence against him.

Officers watched the routes criminals took and found Thompson to be the person picking up the drugs from France. Police found there were multiple drug drop off points in South London, which were mainly near Brixton and Clapham.

Thompson was arrested on August 26 and was intercepted in a rental car on the way back to London from the port of Portsmouth where Smith had allowed her to pass through a Border Force booth that very same day. When she was arrested, the car was searched and 15kg of MDMA were found, worth around...

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