All-female gang jailed for smuggling coc@ine worth £13.6million

An all-female gang behind a major coc@ine trafficking operation in the UK, have been jailed for smuggling drugs worth £13.6million.

The group were part of a supply network that delivered more than 170 kilos of high-purity coc@ine to locations across the UK in just four months, using encrypted messaging, secret passwords, and last-minute drop-off points to evade capture.

Their operation was ultimately smashed when one of their couriers was caught red-handed in London carrying a large haul of drugs worth £80,000.

Officers from the Organised Crime Partnership, a joint unit between the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police, uncovered the conspiracy, which was regularly supplying large quantities of Class A drugs into the capital.

Between April and August 2022, the network transported cocaine with an estimated street value of £13.6million.

Couriers were dispatched across the country, coordinating via the encrypted messaging platform Wickr and relying on codenames and constantly changing locations to stay under the radar.

The beginning of the end came on June 16, 2022, when Arvinder Bains, 39, from Telford, was stopped by officers while carrying out a delivery in London.

A search of his vehicle revealed 10 kilos of compressed cocaine, with a street value of £80,000.

Forensic examination of his phone exposed the scale of the wider plot, showing he was acting as part of a coordinated effort to distribute 22 kilos of the drug that day alone.

Investigators identified Shahrukh Hummayiun, 29, from Wolverhampton, as the organiser who directed the movements of three female couriers – Sindija Virse, 28, Gabriele Trinkunaite, 26, and Rubanpreet Kaur, 26.

Messages recovered from the group showed how they arranged meeting points, shared vehicle details – including the Nissan X-Trail Bains was driving – and timed arrivals with precision to complete handovers.

Further evidence revealed the group had even scouted out locations in advance. The day before the failed delivery, Hummayiun messaged Bains: 'Tomorrow titch no excuses… Car must be ready.'

The gang's carefully orchestrated operation unravelled in January last year as officers swooped to make arrests.

Trinkunaite was detained by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit on January 14 2025.

Hummayiun attempted to flee the country the following day but was stopped at Gatwick Airport as he tried to board a flight to Dubai.

Kaur and Virse were also arrested on January 15 at their home addresses.

All five members of the conspiracy have now been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to a combined total of 30 years and five months behind bars.

Detective Inspector Richard Smith, from the Organised Crime Partnership, said: 'This criminal enterprise was sophisticated and far-reaching.

'The group brazenly supplied multiple communities with dangerous class A drugs without a care for the consequences.

'Thanks to the work of the dedicated investigators on the OCP, we were able to dismantle this network and eliminate the risk they pose to the public.'

Hummayiun, from Wolverhampton, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and jailed for ten years and nine months.

Trinkunaite, from Wolverhampton, admitted the same charge and was sentenced to seven years and eight months.

Kaur, also from Wolverhampton, was jailed for five years and four months after pleading guilty.

Virse, from Bedfordshire, also admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to six years and eight months.

Bains, from Telford, had previously been convicted of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court in December 2022 and was sentenced to nine years.