Mastermind Behind Huge London Drugs Plot Jailed for Decades
Darryl Tawiah, 42, from Southwark, London, was already behind bars on an 18-year sentence for drugs supply and firearms offences when he was arrested again last year. The National Crime Agency (NCA) charged him with running a massive drugs empire from prison.
Drugs Deal from Behind Bars
Tawiah used prison phones to stay in touch with a Netherlands-based drug supplier, who had a history of cocaine importation. After being released early, the Dutch trafficker was deported and faced separate investigations back home.
Wiretaps revealed Tawiah negotiating bulk deals for Class A drugs, organizing distribution networks across London and the South East. His gang is believed to have moved at least two tonnes of drugs into the UK.
“I want you to move 50 a week, don’t talk to me about one,” said the Dutch supplier. Tawiah responded, “No problem Bro… now that it is good, everybody is calling… I need to get more money in.”
Gang Players and Dirty Deals
- Steven Johnson, 37, delivered and distributed drugs across London.
- Rosemond Agyemang, 59, handled the cash, laundering money through bank accounts. She was caught carrying thousands in cash outside Oval station in 2019.
- Dorian Vaciulis, 34, collected drugs and cash for the Dutch supplier.
- Ali Reza Shokrolahi, 41, a lorry driver linked to at least 30kg of cocaine seized at the UK border, was involved but fled while on bail.
- Faisal Guled, 34, a Dutch national living in Camden, was caught running a county line drug operation across London and Northampton.
They all pulled the strings in an organised crime group trading huge amounts of cocaine, heroin (referred to as ‘coffee’), and liquid GHB, known as “2C”, associated with date rapes in elite London areas like Knightsbridge, Mayfair, and Chelsea.
Heavy Sentences but Fugitive Still at Large
At Wood Green Crown Court, Tawiah, Johnson, Vaciulis, and Guled were handed a collective 70 years in prison after pleading guilty. Agyemang got a one-year sentence last year. Shokrolahi remains on the run.
Jason Hulme, NCA Operations Manager, said: “This three-year investigation smashed a criminal enterprise that flooded the UK with tonnes of cocaine, fuelling addiction, violence, and exploitation. Tawiah relied on a network to do his dirty work and everyone took a cut.” “Thanks to police efforts in the UK, Netherlands, and Ireland, we secured these convictions. We remind anyone thinking of trafficking drugs that we will hunt you down.” “Ali Reza Shokrolahi is still wanted. If you have information, contact the NCA on 0370 496 7622 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
