Two brothers have been jailed for more than 34 years after a police investigation uncovered their involvement with the importation of millions of pounds worth of cocaine.
Nicholas Lynn, of Gildenhill Road, Swanley and Temple Denny Road, Falkirk, and Jonathan Lynn, of Heathcote Road, Epsom, have been found guilty of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of cocaine.
Met Police officers pieced together their groups’ movements and disrupted their plan to bring dangerous drugs onto the streets of London.
Specialist officers spent the last three years taking down a large drug trafficking organisation through compiling extensive CCTV and dissecting encrypted software used by criminals to arrange drug importation.
Officers uncovered that the organised group made 19 importations between May 2020 and August 2020, with a street value of £8.8 million.
As a result, 12 people have faced sentencing, with the final two jailed on Friday at Kingston Crown Court.
Jonathan Lynn, 41, was sentenced to 15 years and three months’ imprisonment, while Nicholas Lynn, 35, was jailed for 18 years and eight months.
Detective Inspector Lydia Stephens from the Met’s specialist crime south unit said: “This investigation is a powerful example of the extraordinary work undertaken by the Met’s highly skilled and dedicated detectives to identify, apprehend and prosecute organised criminals.
“We are committed to identifying and dismantling entire networks from the top down to stop the scourge of drug dealing and the associated crimes which impact our communities here in London.
“These vast quantities of cocaine were bound for our communities and I’m pleased we’ve taken them off the streets. Drugs and violence come hand in hand and we will continue to seek out perpetrators who wish to jeopardise the safety of Londoners. ”
Officers worked relentlessly to gather evidence to prove the Lynn brothers’ involvement.
Officers pieced together hundreds of hours of CCTV from Thurrock services to prove this was a meeting spot used by the criminal gang to hand over large amounts of drugs destined for London.
Officers analysed communications on Encrochat, historically used by criminal gangs to communicate in an encrypted system, through usernames used by the Lynn brothers.
This showed their involvement in arranging the transport of Class A drugs from Lithuania to be driven into the UK on HGV lorries.
The team then made use of a drug expert witness to show the Lynn brothers’ leadership role through further data analysis of communications between accomplices.
Thanks to help from European authorities, Jonathan Lynn was arrested in Fuengirola, Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest in November 2022.
Nicholas Lynn was arrested in Kent in February 2021.
Officers used a heavy-duty vehicle to break down a set of gates and Nicholas Lynn was charged with one count of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
Detective Constable Leon Ure, who worked on the case, said: “The success of this case is down to a massive team effort across the Met, involving multiple units and officers coming together to help make sure this pipeline of Class A drugs to London was dismantled.
“Without everyone’s diligence, utmost professionalism and commitment to the job, we wouldn’t have been able to see such significant sentencings. We remain completely committed to keeping Londoners safe and removing dangerous criminals from the streets.”
