Three men were sentenced to 24 years in prison last week for their roles in a conspiracy to supply more than 40 kilos of cocaine and cannabis. They are the latest organised crime group to be apprehended by Operation Costello, Bedfordshire’s largest ever organised crime crackdown, which has so far resulted in the imprisonment of offenders for nearly 250 years. Michael Southall, George Hyde, and Oleksandr Romanenko were all members of an organised crime syndicate that dealt in both cocaine and cannabis. They were also discovered to be in possession of a large sum of money. Bedfordshire Police’s Operation Costello recovered data by cracking the encrypted EncroChat devices used by the criminal network. The messages revealed that the group’s criminal network had connections all over the country, including Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, and Nottingham. Southall, 43, of Lonsdale, Linton, Cambridgeshire, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to cocaine conspiracy. Hyde, 38, of Alder Wynd, Silsoe, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the same offence. He also received concurrent sentences of four and a half years for transferring criminal property, three years for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, and eight months for conspiracy to produce cannabis. Romanenko, 34, of Gloucester Crescent, Northampton, was sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in the distribution of cocaine. He received a two-year concurrent sentence for criminal property possession. “Tackling serious and organised crime is a huge priority for us to ensure the safety of our community,” said Detective Constable Tom Pantony, who investigated the case. One of the features of these groups is that they are often involved in several criminal activities, with each crime feeding off the other – all of which is inherently linked to serious violence and exploitation. “We will not hesitate to apprehend the key players who facilitate this type of crime and imprison them for a long time.” If you notice anything suspicious, such as suspected drug dealing, an unusual increase in visitors to a property, or potential money laundering, please report it to police at beds.police.uk/ro/report or by calling 101. Even if officers do not act on the information immediately, it is fed into police intelligence systems and helps officers build a picture of organised crime.
