The Metropolitan Police have successfully dismantled an organised crime gang that attempted to smuggle £20 million worth of cocaine into Britain hidden in frozen fish shipments from South America. Four men have been imprisoned for a combined total of over 70 years for their involvement in the sophisticated smuggling operation, which would have exploited a legitimate fish business at London's Billingsgate Market as cover. The detection and prevention of this plot demonstrates law enforcement's capability to counter large-scale international drug trafficking networks.

The investigation was triggered by intelligence from the EncroChat encrypted messaging platform, which was infiltrated and shut down by authorities in 2020. Police identified the gang's ringleader as Samuel Tokeley, 57, who received a 22-year sentence after his arrest in Alicante, Spain in summer 2023. The other key members were Scott Richards, 51 (14½ years), Scott Unwin, 52 (13 years), and Nicholas Shilling, 63 (22 years), arrested in Ibiza and the UK respectively. The scheme involved plans to import 600 kilograms of cocaine through Ecuador contacts, but the plot was disrupted before it could materialise.