Pair caught in £3 million heroin bust jailed for almost 30 years
24 April 2021, 12:46 | Updated: 24 April 2021, 12:48
A pair caught in a conspiracy to sell £3 million worth of heroin have been jailed for a total of almost 30 years.
Paul Hinds, 57, and Mehmet Yucetas, 47, were convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and failure to disclose pin codes to protected information held within encrypted mobile phones.
Wood Green Crown Court heard Hinds' home in Enfield was raided on 23 August 2019, where officers found a large bag with 30kg - around the same weight as a 9-year-old child - of heroin stashed at the foot of the bed.
They also found an encrypted mobile phone.
As officers raided the home, an unsuspecting Yucetas approached the address where he was detained and found to have a similar encrypted mobile device as Hinds.
A subsequent search at Yucetas’ home, also in Enfield, also found further evidence of drug supply.
Mobile phone analysis established the two men had organised the heroin to be delivered to Hinds' address in the early hours of 23 August 2019.
The jury heard evidence from a drugs expert estimating the seizure to be worth over £3 million in street value terms.
Hinds has been jailed for 14 years and three months imprisonment and Yucetas has been out behind bars for 15 years.
Serious Crime Prevention Orders were granted against both men, restricting their use of mobile phones, preventing their association and limiting their financial capabilities once released from prison.
Detective Superintendent Neil Ballard, from the Specialist Crime Command, said: "These two men were known to law enforcement agencies for drug trafficking, and this was a significant amount of heroin taken off the streets of London.
"Hinds and Yucetas' sentences should stand as a deterrent to others. It's a clear example that the Met continues to target those involved in serious and organised crime to reduce drugs supply and the violence associated with it."
