Drug gang leader who sold £8m of cocaine to Londoners jailed amid manhunt for wanted accomplice

The eighth member of a drug gang which peddled 100 kilos of cocaine to vulnerable Londoners has been jailed for sixteen years.

Aaron Wise, 33, had attempted to evade justice by fleeing to Marbella when officers began closing in on the gang, but was tracked down with the help of Spanish police.

But a final member of the gang, James Lee, 58, previously of Darcy Court, West Malling, is still at large and is wanted by the authorities.

Isleworth Crown Court heard how the gang supplied over 100kg of cocaine to Londoners between 2019 to 2020, with an estimated street value of £8m.

Wise, of Wyndham Road, Ealing, was in charge of splitting the network into drug couriers and cash couriers in a bid to make the gang harder to track down.

After the encrypted communications platform EncroChat was infiltrated by law enforcement agencies, Met detectives undertook a covert operation, investigating the drug distributors.

They analysed over four years of phone data to unravel the true extent of the network’s reach across London.

Previous members of the group convicted were Jack Lee 35, Gareth Morris 58, Lee Willetts 31, Matthew O’Brien 34, Georgie Norris 23, Mark Breagan 41, and Alfie Whitbread 23.

All were handed sentences between seven years and fifteen years and nine months for their roles in the group.

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Met Detective Constable Gary Jopling, leading the investigation, said: “We know the impact drugs have on our communities.

“They lead to addiction, anti-social behaviour and violence, destroying people's lives and ripping families apart. That’s why we’re pursuing those who seek to profit from the illegal drugs trade and fuel these destructive addictions.

“We are determined to keep dangerous people off the streets of London to tackle drug criminality and make the capital a safer place to live, work and raise a family.”

“James Lee is still wanted and anyone with any information should come forward so he can face justice.”

The previously convicted drug gang members:

• Jack Lee 35, of Lulwroth Road, Welling pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday, 24 September 2021.

• Gareth Morris 58, of Eastview Avenue, Greenwich, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday, 24 September 2021.

• Lee Willetts 31, of Pembroke Road, Greenford pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday, 24 September 2021.

• Matthew OBrien 34, of Northdown Close, Ruislip pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to 15 years and nine months imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 18 March 2022.

• Georgie Norris 23, of Burnham Way, Ealing pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to 12 years and eight months imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 18 March 2022

• Mark Breagan 41, of Evergreen Court, Ealing pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply cocaine and was sentenced to 10 years and four months imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 18 March 2022.

• Alfie Whitbread 23, of Cambridge Road, Ealing pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to eight years and 10 months imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 18 March 2022.

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