Cocaine Gang Jailed After Major City of London Drug Bust
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A sophisticated cocaine dealing gang that ran one of the largest drug supply operations in the City of London has been dismantled, with members handed significant prison sentences.
The group operated under the “Top Gear” or “City Gear” brand, distributing hundreds of wraps of cocaine each week using a network of couriers, including a black cab driver, police revealed.
According to City of London Police, the gang sold 410 wraps of cocaine weekly, worth more than £14,000, and first set up operations during the Covid lockdowns. The gang even used a Top Gear logo on WhatsApp to advertise and manage orders.
The operation collapsed after a key member was arrested, allowing police to analyse phone records and ledgers, exposing the full scale of the business.
Black cab driver Michael Redgrave, 56, was caught outside St Pancras Station and later jailed alongside other gang members.
Detective Constable Matt Cooper, from the City of London Police, said:
“This was a serious and sophisticated drug supply operation which would have resulted in large quantities of cocaine being sold over an extended period of time.
“This was one of the longest-running and biggest cocaine lines in the City of London.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt and tackle serious and organised crime groups and these sentences demonstrate our commitment to putting criminals involved in drug lines and drug supply behind bars.”
Sentences handed down at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday, 31 July:
- Nathan Samuels, 57, of Cornwall Road, Waterloo – 9 years for supply of cocaine (gang leader).
- Michael Redgrave, 56, of Cornwall Road – 2 years 9 months (black cab courier).
- Aaron Bretao, 43, of Skinner Street, Clerkenwell – 3 years.
- Martin Gupta, 38, of Fairgreen Court, Barnet – 4 years 3 months.
- Matthew Samuels, 33, of Rotherhithe New Road, Bermondsey – 3 years 6 months for cocaine and cannabis supply.
- Josh Atherton, 24, of Hemingford Road, Islington – 2-year suspended sentence for supply of cocaine and 4 months for possession of a noxious weapon.
Police said the sentencing marked the end of one of the Square Mile’s most significant cocaine operations, which had been running for several years.
