Dutch dealer was nicked when he posted pics of his trucks

A Dutch drug baron who was caught smuggling half a tonne of cocaine into the UK when he sent his associates photos of trucks dropping off the goods has been jailed for 15 years.

Bert De Jong, 59, kept in constant contact with his London-based network by sending them images as proof the drugs cargos had been safely delivered.

Detectives followed a lorry driven by Justyn Morris, 23, from a holiday let in Marsham, near Norwich to an industrial estate, where he met the Dutchman last 17 July.

De Jong handed three boxes over to Morris who then drove back to Marsham.

Officers stopped the vehicle and found three boxes hidden behind black cladding containing 70kg of cocaine worth up to £2.45m.

Hussain Sakhi, 22 and Zaibaa Zahur, 21, to ‘view’ the holiday let in Marsham and were arrested, Kingston Crown Court heard.

Police officers found messages on Sakhi’s phone linking him to an unidentified contact, who Morris had also been messaging.

Saki, Zahur and Morris were all charged on 18 July 2024.

The dealers kept a detailed record of their distribution of the cocaine and the evidence showed they had moved almost half a metric tonne of the drug, worth £17m.

De Jong arranged for the narcotic to be driven into the UK from Holland and delivered to Morris, who then passed it to Sakhi and Zahur to deal across the capital.

De Jong was arrested when he entering the country last 23 July but denied any involvement.

Evidence on his phone showed he sent ‘tokens’ to associates to let them know the drugs had been delivered, including photos of the trucks and one of a banknote.

Morris, of Upper Lees Road, Slough, admitted conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of cocaine and conspiracy to supply cocaine on 11 March 2025.

De Jong, of Holland, Sakhi, of Laughton Road, Northolt and Zahur, of Harlington Road, Uxbridge, all denied but were convicted by a jury of the same charges.

De Jong was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court; Sakhi was jailed for 14 years; Zahur was sentenced to six years and 10 months’ imprisonment; Morris was jailed for 12-and-a-half years.

Detective Constable Leon Ure, of the Met’s Specialist Crime South team who led the investigation, said: ‘This has been a complex and lengthy investigation to dismantle a group supplying drugs across London.

‘It has been part of a wider, proactive drug operation led by the Specialist Crime South team.

‘This investigation shows the breadth of work the specialist crime unit deals with and I’d like to thank every officer who was involved in the case.

‘Drug dealing has a huge impact on Londoners. It fuels further crime and impacts the heart of our communities.

‘This group is an example of how we will investigate and hold offenders to account.’