One of Jamaica's most wanted drug traffickers has been jailed in the UK for seven-and-a-half years for money laundering offences, Customs and Excise said.
Norman Ramcharan, 50, of Coral Gardens, Montego Bay, was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court for conspiracy to launder A?1.7 million from the proceeds of cocaine trafficking.His right-hand man, Everton George Dennis, 41, of Holland Park, west London, was sentenced to five years.
Dawn Primarolo, Customs Minister and Paymaster General to the Treasury, said the success of the investigation had "dealt a major blow to drugs trafficking groups who target the UK".
"By tackling money laundering, we are cutting off the lifeblood of criminal networks," she said.
Ramcharan arrived in the UK in January for a stomach stapling operation at a private hospital in the north of England, a Customs spokesman said.
After convalescing, he booked into a London hotel, and was put under surveillance by Customs officers.
"During this time, he met with Mr Dennis in and around the hotel to discuss schemes to launder the proceeds of cocaine trafficking between Jamaica, the Netherlands and the UK," the spokesman said. "It is believed that the proceeds from the cocaine trafficking were to be routed back to Jamaica via the UK."
Dennis was arrested in February at Euston Station after a trip to Manchester where he had been observed purchasing a black suitcase. More than A?69,000 was found distributed between his pockets and the suitcase. Ramcharan was arrested two days later at Heathrow airport as he was about to board a plane for Jamaica.
Both men earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
