Four men have been sentenced for their roles in a drug-smuggling operation that aimed to bring over £20 million worth of cocaine into the UK through a London fish market. The sentences were delivered at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London, where the men were found guilty of conspiring to import Class A drugs. Their jail terms ranged from 13 to 22 years, reflecting the severity of their involvement in the plot. Samuel Tokeley, 57, who lives in Alicante, Spain, and Nicholas Shilling, 63, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, both received the maximum sentence of 22 years. Scott Richards, 51, from Wickford, Essex, was given 14-and-a-half years, and Scott Unwin, 52, from Dagenham, Essex, was sentenced to 13 years. The group planned to bring in around 600kg (1,230lbs) of cocaine from South America, using a legitimate business at Billingsgate Market as a cover. Unwin’s established fish business was intended to be the point of entry for the drugs, hidden inside shipments of frozen fish. The Metropolitan Police uncovered the plot after accessing encrypted messages sent through the now-defunct EncroChat service. Decrypted conversations revealed detailed plans for transporting the drugs, handling financial transactions, and coordinating with contacts in Ecuador to supply the cocaine. The planned shipment was never completed, according to police, though the group had already laid the groundwork for the operation. Further intercepted messages showed the group was also planning to move large quantities of ketamine, cash, and cryptocurrency, using legitimate businesses and transport networks to conceal their illegal activities. Officers also discovered plans to traffic hundreds of kilograms of ketamine across the continent before sending it to the UK for sale. Detective Chief Inspector Dean Grafton of the Metropolitan Police said the group was operating on an industrial scale, believing encrypted communication would shield them from detection. The investigation involved close cooperation between the Met, the National Crime Agency, and international law enforcement.