Five men have been jailed for their part in bringing large quantities of cocaine to the streets of South Wales.

The convictions are the culmination of Operation Bounty, a seven month police operation targeting the supply of controlled drugs into South Wales by an organised crime gang.

A number of simultaneous raids took place in March and April, 2015 involving around 50 officers, with the five men arrested at various addresses in Cardiff and Newport.

Three kilograms of cocaine and seven kilograms of cannabis, worth an estimated £1m, were seized during the course of the operation.

The head of the group was 31-year-old Fatos Hasa, who at the time of the offences was the owner of popular Cardiff cocktail bar Lab 22.

During the arrest phase of the operation, police raided his home in Coed Y Gores, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff where he was arrested.

As part of Operation Bounty police also seized around £147,000 from Mr Hasa's bank account and further work is going on to recover additional assets from the gang members.

Hasa, who is originally from Albania, was sentenced today at Newport Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine between August 2012 and April 2015 and conspiracy to supply cannabis between February 2014 and April 2015.

Jailing Hasa for eight years, Judge Philip Richards told him: "This was a significant drugs operation that aimed to distribute drugs to the population of this city (Cardiff). This was done over a long period, the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to you as the leader. You benefited substantially and you are a greedy man.
"You callously carried out your drug activities which has undoubtedly caused misery."


The other members of the gang received the following sentences, after all entering guilty pleas.

ï Lorenc Hasa, 29, from Coed Y Gores, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff ñ 68 months for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
ï Naldi Metaj, 23, of no fixed abode - 68 months for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
ï Sharif Omar, 34, from Carlisle Street, Splott, Cardiff ñ 40 months for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
ï Dardan Merdhoqi, 24, from Edison Ridge, Newport ñ 34 weeks for conspiracy to supply cannabis.


Detective Inspector Tudor Thomas from the Force Intelligence and Organised Crime Unit (FIOCU) at South Wales Police said:

Operation Bounty was launched as a result of information that we received from the community and today's sentences are the culmination of a seven month operation
The arrest and conviction of this crime group shows that South Wales Police will continue to pursue those who traffic drugs into our communities. The success of this investigation was as a direct result of South Wales Police personnel working alongside our communities to target such criminality.

He added: The sentences passed today give a clear and unequivocal message to those involved in the supply of controlled drugs and organised crime in South Wales. Our aim is to ensure that our communities remain safe and free from such criminality and we will continue to relentlessly pursue those involved in organised crime and bring them to justice.î

Catrin Evans, Head of the Complex Casework Unit for the Crown Prosecution Service Wales, said: The sentencing of this criminal gang represents another successful outcome for the highly professional investigation and prosecution teams who work in partnership to protect communities throughout Wales.

Drugs bring misery to our communities and their presence encourages other types of criminality. Those who seek to deal drugs within our local communities should be in no doubt that we will pursue them to the fullest extent of the law and will also seek to use Proceeds of Crime legislation to ensure that they are not able to retain the profits from their illegal activity.

свернуть