Three men have been jailed for a combined total of over 17 years after their bid to become Jersey’s main cocaine suppliers was foiled by a surveillance-led police operation known as Operation Quaff.
Reece McLaren (29), Shahiukh Syed Gilani (38), and Terence O’Hagan (64) were sentenced in the Royal Court yesterday.
McLaren was jailed for seven years, Gilani for six years and 10 months, and O’Hagan was sentenced to four years in prison.
Gilani and McLaren were also sentenced for an assault on fellow prisoner in HMP La Moye on 24 September 2024, where they both punched the victim “multiple times”.
The “test run”
Gilani and McLaren arrived in Jersey on 13 June 2024 for a three-day trip, and completed a successful “test run” importation of seven grams of cocaine.
Covert recording equipment was set up in the property they had rented by police as part of Operation Quaff.
After the successful “test” drugs importation, Gilani was recorded stating that the “method of getting it [the drugs] here works”.
He said to McLaren: “You were a bit sceptical, but here we are, we just need your guy to buy.”
During their stay, the pair met with Jersey contact O’Hagan.
Gilani and McLaren expressed their intention to become the main suppliers of cocaine in the island, and sought O’Hagan’s assistance in making contacts who could facilitate regular commercial quantities.
Plans to “expand”
Gilani and McLaren told O’Hagan that they would take orders and deliver drugs to Jersey weekly.
The were recorded discussing the price in the island to be £3,000 for an ounce of cocaine.
Gilani and McLaren explained that they had successfully imported seven grams of cocaine, adding that they intended to “expand this operation” in the future.
O’Hagan agreed to buy the seven grams of cocaine off the pair for £100 per gram.
Gilani and McLaren were also recorded telling O’Hagan that they were in Jersey for “longevity”.
Recordings from Gilani and McLaren’s holiday let from 15 June 2024 also captured the pair discussing plans to go to the airfield to “see if the planes are left outside”.
It is understood that Gilani can fly a plane.
The duo later visited Gamma Aviation and the Aero Club to take photos.
The delivery
Gilani and McLaren left the island on 16 June 2024 and returned on 20 June 2024.
A package containing 66 grams of cocaine was sent to the holiday let where they were staying.
Officers intercepted the parcel, and it was replaced with a surrogate packet.
A police surveillance team monitored Gilani and McLaren waiting for the post to arrive.
They were seen “checking their watches and pacing up and down the road” outside the address.
The surrogate package was delivered at 10:47.
Recording equipment within the parcel captured a conversation between Gilani and McLaren expressing concern that it had been opened.
They then realised that there was a “police bag” within the package, and they told each other that they needed to get out.
Both men were subsequently arrested by police, and O’Hagan was arrested at his workplace later that day.
All three men pleaded guilty to the drugs offences.
Following their sentencing yesterday, Detective Inspector Christina Maclennan – who leads Drug Squad – said: “The safety of our community is always at the forefront of our minds.
“We will do our utmost to prosecute anyone who imports and/or deal drugs in Jersey and bring those responsible before the courts.”
