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Plot to buy tonnes of cocaine run from jail cell
A criminal who masterminded a plot to import tonnes of cocaine into the UK from his prison cell is facing another term behind bars, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) said.
Russell Knaggs, 38, from Doncaster, helped organise the plan to import five tonnes of the drug from Colombia via Costa Rica, the USA, and Germany, from his cell at Lowdham Grange Prison in Nottinghamshire, where he was already serving a 16-year sentence for drug trafficking.
He and his gang referred to the plan as a “plastering job” to avoid being caught, but were unaware they were being monitored by the authorities.
Knaggs and two other men – Phillip Hadley, 52, from New Hill, Conisbrough, Doncaster, and Robert Rich, 40, from Burton Road, Barnsley – have been found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, SOCA said today.
A fourth man, Anthony Perger, 51, from Hall Road, Sheffield, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge.
All four will be sentenced at the same court on March 2.
Their plan was to ship cocaine in batches from Colombia to Costa Rica where it would be concealed in consignments of fruit, SOCA said. Each batch was to be placed in a container on a ship heading for Longbeach, USA, where it would be put on a larger ship going to Hamburg. The group then planned to transport the cocaine to the UK in smaller loads hidden inside cars.
They failed after losing the down payment on the first batch of cocaine when their Colombian contact was gunned down by a rival cartel. Despite further attempts, Knaggs eventually called things off, SOCA said.
The gang was unaware SOCA and its partners were monitoring them in the UK and when the men travelled overseas, gathering evidence from coded conversations and meetings. According to the agency, the group referred to their plan as a “plastering job” and talked of making a “f*****g shed load of dough”.
During the investigation, prison staff searched cells and recovered a blueprint for importing cocaine, a list of Colombian drug contacts and notebooks containing flight details and locations for meetings. A SIM card Knaggs hid inside legal material was found by independent counsel, SOCA said.
All four men were arrested and charged within months of Knaggs’ release in June 2010.
Three other men were cleared by the jury of the same charge of conspiracy to import cocaine.
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