Albanian gang made £4.2m selling cocaine in posh Tunbridge Wells using ‘Deliveroo for drugs’
RESIDENTS of Tunbridge Wells spent £4.2million on cocaine in six months using a “Deliveroo for drugs”, a court has heard.
The Albanian gang were said to have a “24/7 call centre” in London to service the Kent town.
The case comes as Tory MP Michael Gove admitted taking the drug and a Brussels report warned Britain has become the cocaine capital of Europe.
A report from Brussels’s top anti-drugs agency earlier this month also warned that Britain has become the cocaine capital of Europe amid an “Uberisation” of the trade.
The court heard the gang used a “simple and consistent” business model to sell drugs.
Simon Taylor, prosecuting, said: "The organisers of the network were operating a Deliveroo or Just Eat for drugs and able to keep the key phone sterile by only using it for receiving and confirming orders.
“Always half gram deals, always cocaine, always £40, always Albanian dealers and always Tunbridge Wells.”
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Evidence of the gang members’ extravagant lifestyles was found on phones.
One was filmed throwing cash at a nightclub singer, another boasted of sending a Range Rover Sport back to Albania and a third bought his mother-in-law new teeth.
The town is famous for its royal patronage and is a byword for Middle England. But in one week alone in July last year, one gang call centre number received 1,500 orders — netting at least £60,000.
On an occasion when the line went down, a customer begged for a reply, stating: "I spend £400 a week with you. At least tell me how long."
The gang was also linked to a stabbing, but nobody has been charged.
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Detectives eventually traced the drug lines to Deptford, South East London - 35 miles from Tunbridge Wells - where gang member Rigels Hadashaj, 20, was based.
At other times, the numbers were operating from an address in Romford, East London or from Surrey Quays, South East London.
Cops tracked the gang for several weeks with undercover officers buying from them.
One of the men, Ervish Dervishi, was caught after giving a lift to two undercover officers posing as druggies.
He told them to be quiet while on the phone to his boss because he wasn't allowed to have people in the car.
Another member of the gang had £8,000 cash on him and £2,000 worth of cocaine when arrested.
These images also gave some insight into the lifestyle enjoyed by him (Dervishi) no doubt on the back of his involvement in this conspiracy.
Simon Taylor, prosecuting
Mr Taylor described Dervishi as a "big time Charlie" who filmed himself throwing cash at an Albanian singer in a nightclub in Palmers Green, North London.
He said: "These images also gave some insight into the lifestyle enjoyed by him, no doubt on the back of his involvement in this conspiracy.
"In the course of the videos, multiple cash notes can be seen on the floor and it is possible to see Ervis Dervishi throw handfuls at the singer, as do the others.
"The money is subsequently collected by staff and given to the band."
Another conspirator, Nelson Aliaj, used profits to buy his mother-in-law new teeth and bought land and businesses in Albania.
He also sent a 2017 Range Rover Sport back home to a pal.
Most gang members were in Britain illegally.
Aliaj and co-defendant Fatos Metalia both claimed they had been coerced into taking part in the scheme, after gangsters threatened their families back home.
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But Mr Taylor ridiculed the claims, adding: "They employed young willing recruits with an interest in cars, designer clothes and posing for selfies.
"You do not introduce an unnecessarily complicated element of having someone do it when they don't want to work."
Rigels Hadashaj, 20, Arlind Palushi, 19, Fatos Metalia, 24, Izmir Basha, 24, Nelson Aliaj, 28, Ervish Dervishi, 23, Xhesil Vucaj, 21, Alfred Gashi, 19, and Marius Kuci, 24, will be sentenced later this month for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
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