Six guilty of Crawley drugs smuggle

They were part of a highly organised drugs ring that sent the Class A drug through the post from Peru to Crawley.

The haul was one of the biggest ever seized by Sussex Police.

The 99 per cent pure cocaine had a street value of £1.5million.

But detectives believe it was destined to be turned into crack cocaine - boosting its value to well over £2million.

The conspiracy failed after three consignments were intercepted by German customs officers last year.

They tipped off Sussex Police and a sting was set up to snare members of the gang.

A detective posed as a postman to see who accepted dummy packages at safe addresses in Crawley and Brighton. A string of arrests were made.

The two men who masterminded the plot could face more than 20 years each in jail when they are sentenced at Hove Crown Court today. (thu) Flash "businessman" Lubhia Ram, 44, of Delfont Close, Crawley, was the paymaster who put up more than £53,000 to buy the drugs.

He drove a £90,000 Mercedes AMG sports car, wore flash jewellery and drank £80 bottles of champagne.

Ram was found guilty by a majority verdict of nine to one after a four-month trial.

Smooth-talking charmer Oscar Salas-Weslke,54, who was staying at Ram's luxury rented flat in Delfont Close, Crawley, was his trusted lieutenant.

Salas-Weslke helped mastermind the plot and flew to his native Peru to buy the cocaine.

He then arranged for it to be posted to safe addresses in Sussex.

He was unanimously found guilty of his part in the conspiracy.

He had been jailed before for an almost identical plot to supply cocaine.

He and Ram fled from Crawley when they realised the police net was closing in on them.

Oscar's son Nathan Chapman-Salas,28, of Innes Road, Horsham, acted as their "gofer" transferring money put up by Ram to his father in Lima.

He also collected parcels delivered to safe address in Crawley and Horsham provided by other conspirators.

He cheekily used the name of his hero, Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson, on some of the packages.

The yellow "Jiffy" envelopes each contained five colourful Peruvian purses with 35mm film canisters inside packed with cocaine.

Chapman-Salas, a father-of-three, was found guilty by a majority of nine to one.

Bouncer and former judo champion Richard Casella, 43, of Hophurst Drive, Crawley, was Ram's "muscle".

He, too,provided safe addresses for the drugs to be delivered to.

Trevor Bowden, 38, of Clive Way, Crawley, was also convicted of allowing his address to be used to receive drugs.

Julian Fernandez, 25, of Railey Road, Crawley, pleaded guilty to his part in the conspiracy in the hope of getting a lighter sentence.

Businessman Russell Lawrence, 49, of Maidenbower Place, Crawley, was found not guilty by the jury.

Paul Casella, 44, of Capricorn Close, Crawley, was also cleared after the jury had considered its verdicts for 12 days.

Fabio de Palma, 30, of Albany Road, Crawley, was cleared after the jury heard he had moved into a room previously occupied by Nathan Chapman-Sallas where traces of cocaine were found.

Window cleaner Trevor Bowden, 38, of Clive Way, Crawley was the final defendant to be convicted yesterday.

The verdicts were welcomed by detectives who spent 18 months investigating the case, codenamed Operation Zoffany.

Detective Constable Stuart Black, one of the lead officers, said: "We are elated with the outcome.

"We have taken out Oscar Salas-Weslke who was the head of purchasing in Peru.

"We have taken out Ram, the head in this country of financing the operation.

"We have taken out Nathan Chapman-Salas, the head in this country of distribution.

"We have taken out Richard Casella, in our belief the main muscle behind those three.

"We have managed to convict four major people within this organised crime group.

"Although three importations were stopped we are convinced others got through."

Moves may now be made to deport Salas-Weslke back to Peru.

Fernandez is an EU citizen and cannot be deported.

Three consignments of cocaine are known to have been sent from Peru between July and October last year.

Other shipments almost certainly got through undetected.

They contained "bullets" of 98 per cent pure cocaine with a street value of about £1.5million.

Detectives believe it was to be converted into crack cocaine - boosting its value to more than £2 million.

The haul is thought to have been destined for sale in the clubs, pubs and on the streets of Crawley and Brighton.

Ram had connections with both places, running an ice cream business in Crawley and a convenience store in Brighton.

Alan Kent, prosecuting, said the first consignment was intercepted by German customs officers in August last year.

Post from Peru and Central America is systematically screened for drugs at Frankfurt airport.

German customs alerted the National Criminal Intelligence Service in Britain and then destroyed the drugs.

The second consignment sent by Salas-Weslke arrived in Frankfurt on October 12, last year.

This time, the Germans contacted Sussex Police and detectives Stuart Black and Caroline Robinson went to Heathrow to collect the envelopes.

The cocaine was removed by officers based at the Force's serious and organised crime unit in Brighton.

The Jiffy bags were re-sealed and DC Peter Stapleton posed as a postman to see who accepted them.

Brothers Richard and Paul Casella were arrested after packages were accepted from DC Stapleton at Hophurst Drive, Crawley, on October 31.

A short time later Russell Lawrence, 49, was arrested after accepting a package at his dry-cleaning business in Maidenbower Square, Crawley.

The three men, along with Fabio de Palma, and Trevor Bowden had all denied providing safe addresses for the drugs to be delivered to.

Mr Kent told the jury at the start of the trial:"This case involves a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine through the post from Peru to England.

"You may conclude that some defendants were involved in the finance and purchase and posting of the drugs from Peru.

"Others were involved in the English end receiving the packages and passing them on to others.

"Ram, Oscar Salas and Nathan Salas were involved in the purchase of the cocaine and organised posting it on to address in this country.

"Other defendants provided their addresses or other safe houses for the packages to be delivered to, knowing that the cocaine was going to be smuggled.

"Once they arrived in this country they were to be collected by Ram or Nathan Salas."

Ram claimed he was duped by Oscar Salas-Weslke into investing £25,000 in a pornographic pictures business in Peru.

He said photos taken there were to be used in a Penthouse-style magazine to be sold in Spain and Portugal.

Ram said he provided Salas-Weslke with a list of addresses to send the films to.

But he insisted he knew nothing about drugs being sent through the post.

Salas-Weslke claimed he had nothing at all to do with importing drugs or pornography.

He blamed Ram and accused him of being a police informer who had set him up by planting evidence to incriminate him.

He claimed small amounts of money sent by his son Nathan and Ram to Peru was used to help his family in Lima.

He claimed someone else had used his passport and identity details to collect the bulk of the money.

Mr Kent told the jury Salas-Weslke was jailed for four years in 1999 for supplying cocaine in an almost identical importation of from Peru.

He was also earlier jailed for ten years for possessing cocaine found in his car by police in Peru.

Mr Kent added: "Oscar said Ram knew about the convictions and had been to visit Oscar while he was in prison.

"Oscar said Ram adopted his methods, that this importation was down to Ram and that Ram is trying to blame him."

Nathan Chapman-Salas claimed he was also tricked by his father who told him the money he was sending to Peru was to set up a legitimate photographic business.

Richard Casella chose not to give evidence during the trial and also gave no comment answers during police interviews.

Judge Guy Anthony praised the jury for the attention they gave to the evidence during the trial.

Two of the jurors fought back tears as they returned the final verdict on Bowden yesterday.

All have been excused from having to do jury service for the next ten years.