A married couple was sentenced to 33 years in prison for exporting more than half a tonne of cocaine to Australia, after the National Crime Agency investigation unveiled that they were behind a front company that had sent the drugs by plane under a cover load of metal toolboxes.
NCA investigators identified Arti Dhir, 59, and Kavaljitsinh Raijada, 35, from Hanwell, Ealing as accused in the crime. The drugs were shipped via a commercial flight from the UK and consisted of six metal toolboxes which, when opened, were found to contain 514 kilos of cocaine.
The incident came to light after the Australian Border Force intercepted the cocaine, worth £57 million, upon its arrival in Sydney in May 2021.
In 2021, the couple was arrested from their home in Hanwell on 21 June 2021. Officers found £5000 worth of gold-plated silver bars, £13,000 inside the home and found £60,000 in cash in a safety deposit box.
The pair was again arrested in February 2023. NCA officers discovered almost £3 million in cash hidden in boxes and suitcases at a storage unit in Hanwell.
According to the NCA, the drugs would have been worth up to £57 million when sold in Australia.
Dhir and Raijada had set up a front company called Viefly Freight Services with the sole purpose of smuggling drugs. They both have served as director of the company at different points since its incorporation in June 2015, the NCA reported.
While investigating, the NCA found Raijada’s fingerprints on the plastic wrappings of the metal toolboxes containing the seized drugs. Receipts for the order of the toolboxes, worth £2855, were also discovered at the couple’s home.
The NCA claimed that the couple sent 37 consignments to Australia since June 2019, of which 22 were dummy runs and 15 carried cocaine.
According to NCA, Dhir worked with a flight services company at Heathrow from March 2003 to October 2016. Raijada also worked at the same company from March 2014 to December 2016.
The investigators believe that the couple used their knowledge of the airport freight procedures to cover their criminal activities.
The NCA also found out that the couple had also purchased a flat in Ealing for £800,000 and a Land Rover for £62,000, despite declaring profits of only a few thousand pounds to HMRC. They deposited almost £740,000 in cash into 22 different bank accounts since 2019 and were further charged with money laundering.