Three Drug Dealers Jailed After £1 Million Cocaine Bust at Sheerness Port
Three crooks are behind bars for a total of 21 years after a nail-biting National Crime Agency (NCA) stakeout stopped their daring bid to nick 10 kilos of cocaine from a shipping container.
How the Cocaine Caper Unfolded
- Salih Saruhan, 32, from Broadway, Sheerness; Sean Bourke, 35, of Minster Road, Sheerness; and Irnti Rapai, 29, of Liddon Road, Bromley, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
- On February 11, 2023, NCA officers shadowed the trio as part of a crackdown on drug smuggling.
- Just before 6pm, the suspects left a Sheerness barber’s shop carrying extendable ladders.
- They strolled along the seafront towards the port where Rapai stood guard as lookout near the shore.
- Saruhan and Bourke used the ladders to climb port fencing and targeted refrigerated containers recently docked from Costa Rica.
- The pair accessed a maintenance gantry and prised open a refrigeration unit’s hatch.
- Border Force officers pounced, forcing the men to flee before cuffing them. Saruhan was caught with matching bolts from the hatch.
- Rapai was arrested shortly after in a nearby supermarket car park.
£1 Million Worth of Cocaine Seized
Inside the container, officers found individually wrapped blocks totalling 10 kilos of cocaine. The street value? Up to a whopping £1 million.
Harsh Sentences to Send a Message
The trio faced Maidstone Crown Court on August 7. Saruhan and Bourke got hefty sentences of seven-and-a-half years each. Rapai was locked up for six years and seven months.
Adam Berry, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said: “This operation shows our relentless work to keep UK ports sealed tight against smugglers. The cocaine these criminals tried to import would have caused serious harm to communities, fuelling violence and knife crime. Let these sentences be a warning to anyone thinking they can bring drugs into the UK.”
Border Force National Operations Director Danny Hewitt added: “Drugs fuel the violence our streets suffer. Thanks to officers at Sheerness Port, these criminals were caught fast. We urge anyone living, working, or passing through ports to stay alert and report suspicious activity.”
The crackdown is a timely reminder that UK law enforcement is watching closely, ready to pounce on drug smuggling attempts and keep communities safe.
