Lee Silvester, 41, of Lullingstone Crescent in Bromley, was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on April 10 after being found guilty of four counts of conspiracy to supply and four counts of possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs.
In April 2022, officers from Metropolitan Police observed a man at a storage unit in west London. He was stopped and arrested in the process of unloading class A drugs from his vehicle.
It was later revealed to have a street value of £600,000.
The man was charged and remanded and later sentenced to over five years in prison for possession with intent to supply offences.
His phone, which was seized by officers, led them to identify Silvester as the person “directing and controlling” the convicted man.
An investigation began and in September 2022 he was arrested and found to be in possession of class A drugs valued at over £50,000.
A search of Silvester’s home uncovered what police described as a “wealth of evidence” including further drugs and associated paraphernalia, with heat sealing devices, packaging equipment and a ‘burner’ phone which showed he had been in regular contact with the other man.
Police also found that that Silvester was on the contract for the storage unit alongside the other man.
Silvester was later charged and went on trial at Kingston Crown Court where the jury found him guilty by unanimous verdict.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Brendan Kennedy said: “Silvester’s sentence concludes a matter that has been running for several years targeting organised criminality in the drug trade.
“The evidence demonstrated that his offending was linked to the importation of class A drugs into the UK involving criminals based overseas. Our investigation, assisted by partners in international law enforcement agencies, has caused them significant logistical and financial disruption as a result.
“We want to make London a hostile place for anyone considering this kind of activity, and there is no better deterrent for anyone involved than spending years in prison.”
