National Crime Agency
Printable version

‘Travelling salesmen’ sold drugs smuggled into the UK using fake ambulances

Two men posing as travelling salesmen, who were responsible for supplying millions of pounds worth of drugs to organised crime groups across the UK have been jailed.

Norman McNestrie, aged 50, of Romany Drive, Consett, County Durham, and his right-hand man, Paul Robson, aged 54, of Broomfield Avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne, collected customers’ orders from bogus paramedics who used a fleet of fake ambulances to smuggle up to £1.6 billion worth of drugs into the UK. They received 19 years and 3 months and 15 years respectively.

Three Dutch men were sentenced last year for their roles in supplying the drugs in the ambulances following a separate investigation by the National Crime Agency. A dummy ambulance company was set up in the Netherlands for running the operation which involved the men using bogus patients to make their cover more authentic.

In February 2015, NCA officers observed Robson hand over a holdall to Albanian national Artan Gejcaj, aged 24. Both men were arrested and the holdall was found to contain 10 kilos of cocaine.

Another Albanian man, Greti Permargjeta, aged 23, of Dunedin Road, Leyton, was seen to approach Robson and Gejcaj but turned and ran when he realised they had been detained. He was intercepted and officers found small packets of cocaine in his pockets and false identity documents.

Investigators searched Robson’s vehicle and discovered a professionally constructed hide behind the rear seats. A further four holdalls containing 33 kilos of cocaine and two kilos of heroin brought the total seizure of drugs to 45 kilos with an estimated street value of £6.2 million.

McNestrie was identified and arrested in July 2015  after officers analysed mobile phone records that showed he had been in regular contact with Robson over a long period of time.

They also ascertained McNestrie had checked into the same hotel as Robson in February 2015, and Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data proved both men then travelled to Essex and Suffolk at the same time as the fake ambulances had been there.

Gejcaj and Robson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in April and December respectively. McNestrie and Permargjeta were found guilty at the beginning of March following a trial at Kingston Crown Court.

Gejcaj was sentenced to 7 years  and 2 months and Parmargjeta received 11 years and 4 months.

Oliver Higgins, National Crime Agency Branch Commander, said:

“Under the guise of professional travelling salesmen going about their business, McNestrie and Robson were responsible for supplying vast quantities of Class A drugs around the UK. They thought that the professional manner in which they operated – driving nice cars and wearing smart suits – would allow them to operate under the radar of law enforcement.

“Having access to communications data enabled officers to link the activities of McNestrie and Robson, and that of Gejcaj and Permargjeta, to  the fake Dutch ambulances and the substantial amount of drugs they had brought into the UK. We will continue to target the upper echelons of drug trafficking and hold those involved to account in order to protect the public.”

Pictures of the individuals involved and the drugs seized can be viewed on the NCA's Flickr feed.

 

Channel website: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/

Share this article

Latest News from
National Crime Agency