Three men jailed for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs after Peterborough drug ring busted

Mihal Vasili (32) of Howland, Orton Goldhay, Anastasios Skoulas (24) of Bringhurst, Orton Goldhay and Georgios Chachlakis (24) of Bringhurst, Orton Goldhay appeared at Peterborough Crown Court to be sentenced on Friday (February 18). Judge Matthew Lowe sentenced them each to 32 months in prison.

All three pleaded guilty at their Plea and trial preparation hearing in June, in front of Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, and have been in custody since May.

Mr Vasili, Skoulas and Chachlakis have been identified as the runners for a large-scale drug ring, however, were only sentenced for offences committed on a single night and not for involvement in a conspiracy.

On February 11, the three were arrested at 5 Bringhurst in Orton Goldhay. Each of them had cocaine in their possession. Mr Vasili had nine half gram deals on his person, Mr Skoulas eight and Mr Chachlakis twenty. There were an additional 53 deals of cocaine in an upstairs bedroom and £660 cash was found at the same address.

From their phone records, police managed to piece together the actions undertaken by the three.

The court heard that a deal line would send multiple text messages to prospective customers, who would then call that line and place orders for their drugs. The operator of that deal line would then pass on that customer’s postcode or address to the runner.

The runner would then key this in and drive to the location of the drop and conduct the transaction and relay the details of the transaction to the deal line operator.

Each defendant was also in possession of a set of car keys when they were arrested, Mr Vasily an Audi A4, Mr Skoulas a VW Polo and Mr Chachlakis a VW Passat. The prosecution told the court that it was satisfied they were ready to continue to sell the drugs they were in possession using those vehicles.

It was also the prosecution’s assertion that the men be sentenced for having played a “significant role” in the operation.

The drug ring was headed by members of the Mucaj family and the sentencing of the three men was delayed to allow for the conclusion of the conspirator’s trial.

Xhejni Mucaj (28) of Hartley Avenue, Fengate admitted in court to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, as well as conspiracy to conceal criminal property – namely money laundering.

Christina Sopikou (22) also of Hartley Avenue, Fengate, admitted in court the charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to conceal criminal property – namely money laundering – and conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Sabina Mucaj (24) of Freston, Paston and Bahri Mucaj (60) of Oatfield Street in Glasgow were found guilty of the same crimes as Mrs Sopikou following a trial at Peterborough Crown Court in November.

All four were due to be sentenced in the morning before Mr Vasili, Skoulas and Chachlakis in the afternoon but the proceedings were adjourned.

In his summing up before sentencing the three runners, Judge Lowe said: “Members of the Mucaj family were involved in the supply of cocaine to end users, principally here in Peterborough. This was an operation of some sophistication. It was an enterprise that was conducted over a significant period. It is clear that this overall local operation is one that generated huge profits for the Mucaj family.

“They recruited others to do work within that operation, that included recruiting individuals to take the drugs to the customers, collecting the money and then returning it back to members of the Mucaj family. These three offenders were recruited for that purpose.

“There is no suggestion in this case that these defendants were trafficked or subject to coercion or pressure by their bosses but it is clear that the Mucaj family provided them the use of vehicles, primarily to assist in the supply of drugs and also assisted in the provision of accommodation. All three were being paid for what they were doing and I am satisfied that all three voluntarily and consciously made the decision to involve themselves in the way they did.

“I’m satisfied that, in relation to the guidelines, all three fall fairly squarely into the sentencing guidelines of Category three, significant role. I’m satisfied that each of them did what they did in expectation of financial advantage. They would have had some awareness and understanding of the scale of the operation.”