A drug dealing crime group, including the suspected ringleader of the operation, was raided at dawn by police this morning in Hammersmith.
The 34-year-old man, believed to be the head an of organised crime group, and three other individuals were arrested by officers from the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP) at the man’s flat on North End Road.
The four men were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to supply class A drugs and were taken into custody for questioning.
The OCP is a special unit comprising officers from the National Crime Agency and the Met Police, and has been operating to stop the flow of guns and drugs into London for 15 years.
They had been investigating the leader following evidence emerging from Operation Venetic – an operation investigating the encrypted messaging platform EncroChat.
Matt McMillan from the Organised Crime Partnership said: “Today’s operation has taken out a criminal group we believe was involved in distributing huge amounts of cocaine across London and the Home Counties.
“The trade in class A drugs fuels violence and exploitation and today’s activity is yet another example of the NCA and Met Police working together to protect the public from this threat.”
Officers were in action across south west London, also arresting the gang’s suspected main drug runner and alleged money launderer.
The drug runner is a 49-year-old man, who was arrested on Linkfield Road in Isleworth, while the launderer, a 62-year-old woman was arrested at her home in Imperial Wharf, Fulham, along with her 29-year-old son.
The pair had previously been arrested and released under investigation, following the seizure of close to 50,000 ecstasy tablets and over £90,000 in cash from the address.
The news comes less than two weeks after Home Secretary Priti Patel joined police on a drug dealing raid in Brixton, on an unrelated investigation.
