Three men have been jailed for nearly 18 years in total after a major joint investigation between the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service and the Avon and Somerset police force uncovered a cross-Channel cocaine-smuggling ring that funnelled drugs and tens-of-thousands of pounds through the island.
Bristol-based Adil Alime (30) and Darren Fouracres (47), and Jersey-based Anthony Clark (46) were sentenced in the Royal Court yesterday after admitting drug trafficking and money-laundering offences linked to a one-kilogram cocaine importation with a potential street value of up to £220,000 – or £880,000 if cut with other substances.
Alime was jailed for nine years and six months, Fouracres for seven years, and Clark for 15 months.
The drugs syndicate was exposed after courier Elijah Silbourne, then aged 20, was stopped by Jersey Customs officers on 1 June 2022 on arrival from Poole.
The cocaine, hidden in the boot of his car, was of high purity and Silbourne was jailed for six years later in 2022.
Silbourne’s mobile phone proved pivotal. After granting officers access, investigators – working jointly with Avon & Somerset Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team – traced messages linking him with Alime and Fouracres in Bristol, and with Clark in Jersey.
Fouracres and Clark travelled to Jersey in August 2022 and were stopped by customs officers on arrival.
Alime was stopped separately the following month, telling officers he was visiting Clark.
Authorities launched Operation Crimson to target the organisers, with co-ordinated searches in Jersey and Bristol uncovering multiple burner phones linked to the conspiracy.
House searches and analysis of bank accounts also revealed money movements consistent with a commercial drug-trafficking operation.
All three men were arrested in the Bristol area, and escorted back to Jersey to face charges.
They all pleaded guilty to drug-importation and money-laundering offences.
Luke Goddard, Senior Manager at the Jersey Customs & Immigration Service, praised the “exemplary” cross-border coordination.
He added: “I want to thank colleagues in Avon & Somerset Police for their hard work on this operation.
“Jersey Customs & Immigration Service will continue to work with outside law enforcement agencies to disrupt and prosecute syndicates moving cash and drugs across our border.”
DS Sarah Jefferies of Avon & Somerset Police added that drug supply causes “untold misery” and welcomed the sentences handed down by the court.
“We’re committed to tackling their supply and work closely with our partners locally – and further afield – to do so,” she added.