Three drug dealers have been jailed after more than £30,000 of cash was found in a Deliveroo bag.

The men, who were involved in the supply of more than 45kgs of cocaine between March and June 2020, have been imprisoned for a combined total of 47 years.

The drugs were prepared for onward sale across south east London including to county lines drug gangs.

At Woolwich Crown Court on July 21, Xieng Ly, 42, of Stone Gardens, Halling, was sentenced to 18 years for conspiracy to supply 11kgs of cocaine and conspiracy to supply 6kgs of cannabis.

Mark John Baeza, 44, of Bracondale Road, Greenwich, was sentenced to 18 years for conspiracy to supply 15kgs of cocaine.

Warren Wright, 48, of Camdale Road, Greenwich, was sentenced to 11 years on Friday, August 4, at Isleworth Crown Court for conspiracy to supply more than 15kgs of cocaine.

All three were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on July 20.

Detective Constable Imran Hansraj, of the Met Police's serious and organised crime squad, said: “Baeza, Ly and Wright took a calculated gamble when they became involved in the illegal drugs trade.

“Despite believing that using encrypted devices made them untouchable, the sentences handed down show that ultimately their business model was flawed.

"This operation involved multiple teams across the Met and it’s thanks to their hard work and dedication that this organised crime group has been dismantled.

“The direct link between drug dealing and violence is clear and the consequences bring absolute devastation to communities across London.

“The drugs trade relies upon exploitation and violence to operate and as such we will continue to pursue those responsible putting them before the courts.”

Baeza and Ly used multiple addresses in south east London to store drugs and cash.

They ran the operation and tried to distance themselves from the drugs by employing people below them to take hold of them before cutting them and preparing them to be sold on.

Baeza employed Wright, who used the communications network ENCRO with the user handle of WETWARRIOR, to store drugs and cash.

Baeza, Ly and Wright all used the ENCRO chat platform to run the operation buying and selling multi-kilo amounts of cocaine. Ly was also involved in the supply of 6kgs of cannabis.

The men came to the attention of police during proactive work by the Operation Eternal team to identify users of this system.

On Thursday, January 21, 2021 officers from Operation Eternal and the Met's Territorial Support Group carried out search warrants across south east London.

Baeza and Wright were arrested following searches at their home addresses. They were then charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on January 2021.

At the home of Wright, over £30,000 of cash in a Deliveroo bag was seized. Also found was a box for an Encro chat phone with the username OWLWELDER.

There was compelling evidence on the ENCRO chat phone which led officers to link Ly to the handle OWNDRAGON.

The compelling evidence included OWNDRAGON giving the time of a doctor's appointment that was checked and corroborated with Xieng Ly having an appointment at the same time.

OWNDRAGON also sent pictures of a motorbike he had bought and Ly was shown to be the registered keeper of the same bike and also sent pictures of the same bike on his mobile phone.

OWNDRAGON also discussed the fact he was collecting a pedal bike from Surrey. Checks on the personal phone of Ly show him buying and collecting a push bike from Surrey during the same time frame.

Ly was arrested on Monday, 25 July 2022 as he arrived back into the UK. He was charged on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.