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Aircraft drug-drop gang jailed for smuggling

Aimee Dexter
BBC News, East of England
ERSOU Arjan Lisaj, on the left, and Martynas Piecia, on the right, in a plane. They are both wearing blue ear defenders, and have seatbelts on. Piecia has his thumbs up at the camera. ERSOU
Arjan Lisaj, left, and Martynas Piecia, right, used a plane to deliver drugs

A gang involved in importing parcels of cocaine that were dropped from a plane has been sentenced for drug offences.

The organised crime group operated on the Hertfordshire and Essex border, using a car wash business in Spellbrook as a front for the criminality, police said.

Cocaine worth an estimated £4.2m and £31,700 in cash were found following an investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU).

Det Insp Daniel Barker of ERSOU, said: "These men were entirely motivated by greed and paid no regard to the significant damage that class A drugs cause in our communities."

ERSOU found the gang liaised with contacts abroad to drop the packages in Dorset and found the flights, leaving from northern France, would intentionally avoid radar systems.

Each time, Rolandas Bauza, 47, or Martynas Piecia, 37, would drive to the same location to collect the parcels.

Arjan Lisaj, 33, who worked at the car wash, was arrested in September 2024 alongside Bauza. Piecia was also arrested a short distance from the site.

Bauza was found in possession of £31,700 in cash and officers retrieved a phone which Lisaj had thrown into a stream as police arrived.

Blocks of cocaine were discovered in an office during a search of the car wash.

On the same day, ERSOU detectives raided Bauza's home in Loughton, where his brother, Tomas Bauza, was located and detained.

At the property, 54kg of cocaine was found alongside evidence that the house had been used as a cannabis factory.

ERSOU Pictures of Tomas Bauza, on the left, and Rolandas Bauza, on the right, are side by side. They are both looking into the camera, and are standing in front of a grey background. ERSOU
Tomas Bauza and Rolandas Bauza were involved in important parcels of cocaine

'Great lengths'

At St Albans Crown Court in February, Piecia, Rolandas Bauza and Lisaj all pleaded guilty to being concerned in the importation and supply of controlled drugs into the United Kingdom.

  • Piecia of Hoist Lane, Thaxted, Essex, was jailed for 15 years and seven months
  • Rolandas Bauza, of Colson Road, Loughton, Essex, was jailed for 14 years and seven months
  • Lisaj, of Barrells Down Road, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, was jailed for seven years
  • Tomas Bauza, 44, of Colson Road, Loughton, Essex, was jailed for 10 years after being found guilty of supplying drugs but cleared of importation at St Albans Crown Court.

Det Insp Barker said: "They went to great lengths to hide their illicit activities, and today's result follows a huge amount of police work to capture evidence during our investigation."

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