The mastermind behind a drug smuggling gang which brought tens of millions of pounds worth of high-purity cocaine into the UK hidden in lorries has been jailed for 28 years.
Convicted armed robber John Reed and his men imported hundreds of kilogrammes of the Class A drug from the Netherlands over the space of at least 18 months, a court heard.
Some of the seized cocaine The 65-year-old and four members of the gang were arrested in January last year, when police found 24lb (11kg) of cocaine with a street value of around £1.5m in a raid at a haulage firm.
Police believe the gang were bringing in £25m per year from their illicit operation.
Reed, 65, and minor gang member Kevin Jones, 51, were jailed at Kingston Crown Court for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Judge Nicholas Price QC told them: "This conspiracy was so long-running and concerned so many kilograms of cocaine it was truly off the scale."
Reed, of Capstan Way, Southwark, London, led the gang with haulier Daniel Cheevers, the court heard, using Cheevers' Northamptonshire business as cover for taking money to the continent and bringing back up to 11kg of the drug at a time.
The court heard that significant amounts of money had been deposited in bank accounts in Dubai. A further £24,000 in cash was found at his home when it was raided by police.
From left: Jones, a minor gang member, and Cheevers, who worked with Reed The gang brought back on average 7.5kg of uncut cocaine on each trip, the court heard. It was worth up to £70,000 per kilo - more when it was cut from 92% purity to a street strength of below 20% purity.
Two drivers made multiple trips, bringing back up to 300kg of the drug back every year, Prosecutor Mark Gadsden said.
Reed's barrister Ian Winter QC claimed there was no evidence that his client had played any more than a minor role in the drug smuggling but the judge rejected his argument.
The court heard Reed was previously jailed for 17 years in 1987 for his role in an armed robbery in London in which police officers were shot at.
McCorry and Greenhill were jailed for 19 and 12 years respectively Former lorry driver Jones, of Douglas Road, Welling, Kent, acted as a go-between and messenger with the gang and was jailed for 15 years.
Cheevers, 47, of Troon Crescent, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was jailed for 25 years last month.
Two others - Joseph McCorry, 52, of Northumberland Avenue, Welling, and Robert Greenhill, 62, of Ivy Close, Dartford, Kent - were jailed for 19 and 12 years respectively at the same time.
All had denied conspiracy to supply cocaine but were found guilty at an earlier trial.
Christopher Mealey, Lee Smith and Jamie Spring are wanted by police :: Scotland Yard has issued an appeal to trace three other men.
Jamie Spring, 40, also known as Jamie Hall, Christopher Mealey, 37, and Lee Smith, 40, have not been seen since the other gang members were arrested.
Spring and Mealey are the sons-in-law of Reed and, along with Smith, have connections to Spain and Cyprus but police said this week they "retain an open mind" as to their whereabouts.
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