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Billion pound drug gang headed by 'One Diamond Gee' snared after trafficking huge haul
The capture of drug lord Paul O’Brian, aka One Diamond Gee, led police to arrest a UK-wide network of traffickers that had imported more than 8.5 tonnes of cocaine into Britain
A UK-wide billion-pound drug operation quickly unravelled after police busted king pin ‘One Diamond Gee’.
The 12-member gang have been put behind bars for a total of 195 years for bringing in a billion pounds worth of Class As into Britain, after authorities “dismantled” the “organised crime group in its entirety”.
Met detectives and the UK’s equivalent to the FBI, the National Crime Agency, went “above and beyond” to catch the crooks as part of a four year investigation, which has helped stop the drugs flooding the streets in cities and towns up and down the UK.
The operation was described as “community crime-fighting at its best,” by Detective Chief Superintendent Ella Marriott, Head of the London Regional Organised Crime Unit.
Police started to investigate the west-London based gang in 2020, which was led by Lee Mortimer and career criminal Paul O’Brian, who detectives quickly identified as a key figure in the network.
The 57 year-old from Uxbridge, London, who went by the handle ‘ONEDIAMONDGEE’ on the EncroChat messaging app, trafficked drugs and cash between Ireland and the Netherlands.
Investigators discovered messages between O’Brian and another crim about transporting cocaine and 900,000 euros in cash on the app.
Their conversation showed that on April 4, 2020 two vehicles met near a the village of Udder in the Netherlands to hand over drugs with a UK street value of unto £1million, reports MailOnline.
The drugs then travelled to Ireland, via the UK, and on April 10, 300,000 euros of O’Brian’s, were collected near Louth, Ireland and driven to the Netherlands.
Arrangements were made for 600,000 euros to be collected from a bus station in Drogheda, Ireland on May 11, which were also destined for the Netherlands. However the Garda swooped in to intercept the dirty money and arrest the couriers.
O’Brian, was identified as One Diamond Gee after he was arrested by Met cops and his EncroChat device was seized on May 29, 2020.
The drug lord pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad. On November 3, 2023, O’Brian was sentenced to 21 years in the slammer.
O’Brian’s downfall led to a string of arrests, as officers seized more than 1609kgs of cocaine, valuable goods such as vehicles and jewellery and more than £1million in cash. Authorities were also able to identify members of another drug-dealing operation in Greater Manchester led by Jonathan Strogylos, which had imported more than 8.5 tonnes of cocaine between 2017 and 2020.
Cops were able to make further arrests and seize a further 128kg of cocaine and 8kg of heroin imported through Harwich port with the help of Essex Police.
NCA Branch Commander Martin Clarke: "The NCA were able to work in collaboration with the Met to share information which enabled us to identify and dismantle this organised crime group in its entirety.
"The criminal network was international in its scope, with connections to drug suppliers across the globe."
Daily Star Sunday
The capture of drug lord Paul O’Brian, aka One Diamond Gee, led police to arrest a UK-wide network of traffickers that had imported more than 8.5 tonnes of cocaine into Britain
A UK-wide billion-pound drug operation quickly unravelled after police busted king pin ‘One Diamond Gee’.
The 12-member gang have been put behind bars for a total of 195 years for bringing in a billion pounds worth of Class As into Britain, after authorities “dismantled” the “organised crime group in its entirety”.
Met detectives and the UK’s equivalent to the FBI, the National Crime Agency, went “above and beyond” to catch the crooks as part of a four year investigation, which has helped stop the drugs flooding the streets in cities and towns up and down the UK.
The operation was described as “community crime-fighting at its best,” by Detective Chief Superintendent Ella Marriott, Head of the London Regional Organised Crime Unit.
Police started to investigate the west-London based gang in 2020, which was led by Lee Mortimer and career criminal Paul O’Brian, who detectives quickly identified as a key figure in the network.
The 57 year-old from Uxbridge, London, who went by the handle ‘ONEDIAMONDGEE’ on the EncroChat messaging app, trafficked drugs and cash between Ireland and the Netherlands.
Investigators discovered messages between O’Brian and another crim about transporting cocaine and 900,000 euros in cash on the app.
Their conversation showed that on April 4, 2020 two vehicles met near a the village of Udder in the Netherlands to hand over drugs with a UK street value of unto £1million, reports MailOnline.
The drugs then travelled to Ireland, via the UK, and on April 10, 300,000 euros of O’Brian’s, were collected near Louth, Ireland and driven to the Netherlands.
Arrangements were made for 600,000 euros to be collected from a bus station in Drogheda, Ireland on May 11, which were also destined for the Netherlands. However the Garda swooped in to intercept the dirty money and arrest the couriers.
O’Brian, was identified as One Diamond Gee after he was arrested by Met cops and his EncroChat device was seized on May 29, 2020.
The drug lord pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit a crime abroad. On November 3, 2023, O’Brian was sentenced to 21 years in the slammer.
O’Brian’s downfall led to a string of arrests, as officers seized more than 1609kgs of cocaine, valuable goods such as vehicles and jewellery and more than £1million in cash. Authorities were also able to identify members of another drug-dealing operation in Greater Manchester led by Jonathan Strogylos, which had imported more than 8.5 tonnes of cocaine between 2017 and 2020.
Cops were able to make further arrests and seize a further 128kg of cocaine and 8kg of heroin imported through Harwich port with the help of Essex Police.
NCA Branch Commander Martin Clarke: "The NCA were able to work in collaboration with the Met to share information which enabled us to identify and dismantle this organised crime group in its entirety.
"The criminal network was international in its scope, with connections to drug suppliers across the globe."
Daily Star Sunday