The kingpin behind an organised crime group caught in the act importing cocaine worth an estimated £30 million, has been jailed.

Ricci Galea, 37, was today (Friday) sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment, bringing the total jail time for those involved in the huge criminal operation to 61 years.

One of his accomplices, Tommy Swain, from Gravesend, was imprisoned at an earlier hearing.

Galea was found guilty of importing the class A drugs into the UK from South America after specialist police raided a haulage yard in Purfleet, Essex.

They found his gang unloading a shipment of 280kg packages of cocaine.

The drugs had been hidden in the floor of an articulated lorry trailer, with detectives arriving as a forklift truck was being used to remove the parcels in May 2020.

A second lorry was also waiting to be loaded with the packages, for imminent onward distribution across the UK.

An investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit established Galea was behind the EncroChat handle “blessedpainter”, which had orchestrated importation of the shipment.

Messages showed he was also responsible for a separate delivery of 11kg of cocaine seized from a shipping container stored at London Gateway days after the first raid.

Investigators from ERSOU’s Regional Organised Crime Unit, working closely with officers from Kent and Essex Police’s Serious Crime Directorate, established that the gang imported wholesale amounts of cocaine ,which was sold to other criminal networks across the UK.

Messages on Encrochat , the criminal communications tool which was dismantled in Spring 2020, gave an insight into the intricacies of these criminals, with Galea paying his subordinates in allocations of the drugs and encouraging them to hide their recompense from each other.

Conversations also showed how complex the criminal operation was, with each member having a clear role.

Galea was the head of the gang, organising importation through contacts in South America and coordinating the group.

Swain, 46, of Princes Road, Gravesend, was found inside the lorry’s trailer as he supervised the removal of the drugs.

He was a welder and used to build sophisticated hidden spaces within the floorspace of refrigerated containers.

Swain was previously jailed for 14 years and six months.

Lee Amos, 51, of Fencepiece Road, Ilford, east London, initially tried to run from the scene after seeing police but was also arrested at the haulage yard.

“This was one of the largest seizures of class A drugs ever in our region...”

He was used as security for the container and helping in the onward supply of the cocaine. He was previously jailed for 11 years and three months.

Ian Burr, 56, formerly of Basildon, Essex, was found next to the forklift truck. He had been hired to assist with the removal of the cocaine and was previously jailed for 11 years.

Galea, of Hillcrest Road, Toot Hill, Essex, was found guilty last December following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Det Ch Insp James Panter, whose team led the investigation, said: “This was one of the largest seizures of class A drugs ever in our region and no doubt stopped a significant amount of dangerous substances from making it into communities across the country.

“It was important for us to seize the drugs before they could be distributed any further, but equally vital was ensuring those behind the criminal enterprise were identified and apprehended.

“To know that these men will all now spend a significant spell behind bars is a really positive result and should be a stern warning to anyone looking to profit from drug dealing.

“This operation was an excellent example of how our specialist unit works closely with police forces across eastern England to ensure illicit drugs don’t make it into our communities.”