27 February 2012 Two men who attempted to traffic large amounts of cocaine into the UK, hidden in consignments of live tropical fish, have been jailed for a total of 22 years. Olaf Urlik and Norbert Jarzabek, both originally from Poland, first practised and then attempted to smuggle 17kg of high purity cocaine, worth an estimated £1.6 million at wholesale, from Colombia into the UK. The drug was dissolved in bags of fluid and stored inside larger bags with the live fish. More than 16,000 fish died, and 34 survivors are currently recovering in ZSL London Zoo. The 2 men carried out a trial run in April 2011. Jarzabek and a friend from Strelley, Nottingham, collected the consignment at Heathrow and took the fish to a lock up garage in Islington in London where they were abandoned. Confident of success following their rehearsal, Urlik and Jarzabek then plotted the shipment which would contain cocaine, unaware that investigators from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) were watching. The shipment of 25 double boxes of tropical fish arrived on 9 July 2011 labelled "Live Tropical Fish, Handle With Extreme Care." SOCA and UKBA officers scanned the boxes and found 10 boxes containing bags of dissolved cocaine. Two days passed before Jarzabek and another man arrived at Heathrow to collect the consignment. They loaded the fish into a van and took them to a property in Glade Avenue, Nottingham, which Jarzabek had rented the month before. Urlik flew in from Amsterdam, arriving at the flat around 2am. As they unpacked the boxes the men commented that they didn't expect the fish to be as 'lively' considering they weren't collected on time. At 3.30am, officers moved in and arrested the men at the scene. The fish had limited oxygen for at least 96 hours and many were dead or lay dying in a colander. SOCA contacted experts at London Zoo to look after the 41 fish still alive. A further 7 died, and the 34 which survived will remain in the aquarium at the Zoo. Olaf Urlik and Norbert Jarzabek, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine on 5 January 2012. Jailing the pair to 11 years each, His honour, judge Head, sitting at Nottingham crown court said: 'This was a highly sophisticated operation. Both these men had a substantial awareness of what they were doing, each had a leading role and both set to gain substantially.' The investigation was in partnership with the UK Border Agency and Nottinghamshire police. Gerry Smyth, from SOCA said: 'These 2 were exceptionally callous. They used living creatures as a test run and then effectively as packaging for their drugs, seeing only the profits they would make. SOCA is grateful to the expert teams at ZSL London Zoo who helped us out in this very unusual case. 'Partnerships at a national and international level are vital if we are to tackle drug trafficking. Drugs cause misery for families and communities. These criminals are now facing lengthy jail terms and they've been denied their profits.' ZSL London Zoo's Rachel Jones said: 'Despite the awful way that they came about being here, we are pleased to say that the fish are now thriving at ZSL London Zoo's aquarium. When we first got the fish, most of them were drastically underweight, and they'd been living in cold, dirty water for days. 'Since we've been caring for them, we've seen vast improvements in their health; they're growing really fast and they've joined groups of other Amazonian species for the public to see. They have a great future ahead of them, here at the Zoo'. Jacqueline Finn, senior lawyer in the organised crime division, of the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'This case demonstrates the extraordinary and innovative lengths that drug dealers will go to so they can ply their evil trade. Urlik and Jarzabek thought that by having diluted cocaine hidden in bags of fish they would escape detection and net huge profits but they did not realise their plot had been detected. The joint investigation by SOCA, UKBA and Nottinghamshire police provided the Crown Prosecution Service with detailed evidence against the 2 men. We worked closely with the agencies to build a strong case and when confronted with the evidence against them, Urlik and Jarzabek both pleaded guilty.' Peter Avery, criminal and financial investigation team, of the UK Border Agency said: UK Border Agency officers are on constant alert to keep class A drugs and other banned substances out of the UK and take them out of the supply chain before they reach the streets. The detection of this large amount of cocaine, hidden in such an unusual way, demonstrates the success we are having, working alongside SOCA and our other law enforcement colleagues.' Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling can call the smuggling hotline on 0800 59 5000. Source:- http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2012/february/59-miracle-fish-cocaine
