Three people from Thanet have been sentenced for their roles in a gang that laundered money and funnelled heroin into a prison.
In total, six people at Maidstone Crown Court admitted the offences in September and were sentenced this month.
Their money-laundering funded the supply of heroin into Elmley Prison, Sheppey, over a period of more than two years.
Those in court were:
• Brothers Stephen MacDonagh, 32, unemployed, of Bath Road, Margate, and Brian MacDonagh, 36, of Elmley Prison. Both were sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment to run consecutively with jail terms they were already serving.
• Barbara Ouddah, 55, café owner of Shore Close, Ethelbert Road, Birchington, was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months and 100 hours of community service.
• Wesley Adyinka, 27, unemployed, of Dalby Square, Cliftonville, was sentenced to a six-month drug treatment and testing order for possession of heroin.
• Mark Lee, 26, unemployed, of Ilford, east London, was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment.
• Nadia Jan Baptiste, 23, unemployed, of Islington, north London, was sentenced to two years and eight months’ imprisonment.
All defendants except Adyinka will be subject to confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds Of Crime Act.
In October 2006 Elmley Prison had alerted Kent Police’s Prison Intelligence Unit to the fact that a serving prisoner’s partner was allowing her bank account to be credited to fund the supply of heroin into the jail.
The serving prisoner was Lee and his partner was Baptiste.
Police and intelligence officers in the Prison Service carried out a joint investigation.
They discovered that between August 2006 and May 2007 more than £14,000 cash was paid into Baptiste’s account from different locations around the South East. Sometimes this included multiple deposits.
It became clear that Lee was an intricate part of the supply of heroin and also controlled the cash in Baptiste’s account, monitoring it regularly.
Ouddah was a regular payee who bought up to £9,000 of heroin for her foster son, Wesley Adyinka. He was also a prisoner at Elmley.
Further evidence was uncovered that revealed Stephen MacDonagh asked his brother Brian for money to buy heroin.
In September and October 2007 all six were charged with money-laundering and supply and possession of drugs offences.
Det Sgt Nicholas Fullerton from Kent Police’s Serious Economic Crime Unit said: “This is an extremely satisfying end to a long and complex investigation that was made even more complicated by the web of personal relationships between the various defendants.
“It was also particularly challenging because a criminal justice agency was involved.
“However, I am proud that more than two years of hard work, dedication and expertise has resulted in the end of a major criminal network and prevented drugs entering the prison system and the community generally.
“The sentence sends a very strong message to criminals, present and future, that it is not worth taking the risk to commit crimes because you will get caught sooner or later.
“Kent Police has immense intelligence gathering and enforcement expertise. It has specialist departments that dedicate their time and resources to identifying and monitoring a range of criminals to bring them to justice.
“It’s what the public wants and expects and we are committed to ensuring that the people of Kent can go about their daily business and enjoy quality of life without the disruption and misery that criminals cause.
“I also want to pay tribute to the many departments within Kent Police that worked together on this investigation, as well as the Prison Service. Without their commitment and co-operation the defendants may still be dealing in deadly drugs.”
POSTED: 22/10/2008 13:30:01
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