Child-trafficking drug-runners jailed

Child-trafficking drug-runners jailed

Three men and a woman have been sentenced at Kingston Crown Court for running a drugs county lines network which involved the trafficking of two missing children between London and Hull.

They pleaded guilty last month - on day three of a trial. This was after officers from the Met’s Op Orochi presented them with extensive CCTV evidence and communication data which proved their criminality, even without corroborating statements from the children.

20-year-old Enriko Kadima of no fixed address was sentenced to six years’ and four months imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and arranging or facilitating the travel of another with a view to exploit under Section 2 of the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015 - Human Trafficking.

19-year-old Michael Dos Santos of Barnet was sentenced to four years’ and six months imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and arranging or facilitating the travel of another with a view to exploit under Section 2 of the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015 - Human Trafficking.

23-year-old Junior Monakana of Chadwell Heath was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, crack cocaine and heroin.

26-year-old Sabriye Remzi of Enfield was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment (suspended for two years) and 250 hours unpaid work for being concerned in the Supply of Class A drugs.

Detectives from Op Orochi began their investigation into the drugs lines which operated from London to Hull and supplied crack cocaine and heroin. The line, which was run by Monakana, issued out bulks of messages, multiple times a day to up to 175 potential buyers at any one time.

Detectives discovered how on Sunday, 8 October 2022, Monakana, Kadima and Remzi travelled to Hull from London and back in Remzi’s vehicle. Also present was a 16-year-old missing boy from London. All four stayed in Hull overnight and the following day - Monakana, Kadima and Remzi travelled back down to London. The child was left in Hull alone, in squalid conditions.

Again, on 11 October Monakana, Remzi, Kadima and Dos Santos travelled to Hull, this time taking with them a 15-year-old boy who was reported missing from London.

These individuals stayed in Hull overnight before Monakana and Remzi returned to London, leaving Dos Santos, Kadima and the two missing children in Hull.

Officers from Op Orochi were notified of the second missing child by officers from South East Basic Command’s Missing Person Unit on 13 October 2022. Officers were deployed to Hull the following day and located the two children and Kadima in an abandoned derelict building. Dos Santos was located in a neighbouring garden, having tried to escape out of the rear of the property whilst officers were forcing entry.

Upon searching the address police discovered relevant phone handsets, as well as clear evidence of the address being used for the storage, preparation and supply of crack cocaine and heroin. Police recovered a small amount of drugs in the property, with a larger amount found on the 15-year-old – approximately £150 worth.

Once the children were safeguarded, police moved in on Monakana who was arrested in London. Again, the relevant phone handsets were seized for both. On the 25 October, Remzi was arrested at her home address.

PC Jack Hardwick from Operation Orochi, said: “This sentence sends a message that the use of children as drug runners is taken seriously by the Met. This was a victimless prosecution, in that neither child supplied a statement to police. This confirms that those that seek to exploit children from London will be caught, arrested and face justice even without victim cooperation.”

Operation Orochi was set up in November 2019, and the Metropolitan Police has worked in partnership with 26 county forces to target and close county lines, bringing offenders to justice.

The teenagers were not prosecuted and were safeguarded and instead, referred to Children's Services from respective local authorities and the Single Competent Authority/National Referral Mechanism. Since 1 April 2022, - Orochi, working closely with Rescue and Response, have conducted 23 operations, rescued 33 children from County Lines and charged 31 individuals with modern slavery offences.