Three drug dealers who hid millions of pounds worth of cocaine in secret compartment inside white van are jailed for more than 20 years
- Lazarus Loizides, 27, Joe Sawyer, 26, and Robert Beckley, 31, pleaded guilty
- Police seized 49 kilos of cocaine from the dealers with a street value of £6million
- All three men have now been jailed for a total of 23 years
Three drug dealers who hid millions of pounds worth of cocaine in a secret compartment inside a white van have been jailed for a total of more than 20 years.
Lazarus Loizides, 27, Joe Sawyer, 26, and Robert Beckley, 31, admitted their involvement in supplying £6million worth of the Class A drug after being tracked by undercover cops in London.
Police uncovered 49 kilos of the drug after searching the dealer’s homes and a white van.
Expensive designer watches and shopping receipts from Harrods were found when police searched their homes.
Loizides was seen outside Sawyer’s home in Redbridge, east London, last October taking two large Sports Direct bags out of his car which appeared to be heavy to carry.
He put both bags into the back of a white van that he earlier arrived in before driving off.
Cops followed him before arresting him in Islington, north London. He had a large quantity of cash and a ‘burner’ phone. Under one of the rear seats was a sophisticated hide.
When Sawyer was arrested 45 minutes later officers found the keys to the white van that Loizides had initially arrived in and opened it. Inside they found the two Sports Direct bags. Inside one of the bags was 24 one-kilo bricks of cocaine
Officers searched Loizides’ address in Chelmsford, Essex, where they found three kilos of cocaine, cash totalling more than £55,000, several designer watches and a number of receipts for high value purchases at Harrods.
When Sawyer was arrested 45 minutes later officers found the keys to the white van that Loizides had initially arrived in and opened it.
Inside they found the two Sports Direct bags. Inside one of the bags was 24 one-kilo bricks of cocaine. The second bag was empty. Underneath the floor, in the rear, was a concealed ‘hide’ which contained a further 17 one-kilo bricks of cocaine.
Beckley was followed by cops onto the M25 where he was stopped by marked cars. A blue holdall in the passenger footwell was found to contain another five kilos of cocaine.
A total of 41 kilos of cocaine was found in the back of the white van. In total, 49 kilos of cocaine were seized with an estimated street value of almost £6million.
A total of 41 kilos of cocaine was found in the back of the white van. In total, 49 kilos of cocaine were seized with an estimated street value of almost £6million
They were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Loizides was further charged with possession of criminal property in relation to the cash seized.
All three pleaded guilty when they appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court last November.
Loizides was jailed for 11 years at the same court last Thursday.
Sawyer was sentenced to eight years behind bars while Beckley, of West Malling, Kent, was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.
Detective Chief Inspector Driss Hayoukane, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: ‘The lengths these men went to try and conceal their criminal activities by having secret hides in their cars is not something an everyday person would even think to consider.
‘But, then again, most everyday person wouldn’t even consider transporting almost 50 kilos of cocaine in their vehicles.’
DCI Hayoukane added: ‘We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we are committed to putting handcuffs on those involved in drugs supply offences and making sure that they spend a significant amount of time in prison.’