A drug dealer who arranged cocaine deals within the UK worth almost £1.4 million has been jailed for 10 years.

Taulant Stoica, from Bexleyheath, was identified as the fixer behind a number of drug deals in London and Bristol arranged on encrypted messaging platform EncroChat in an operation overseen by the Organised Crime Partnership.

Andrew Tickner, from the OCP, said: “Stoica was pulling the strings behind these drugs deals which, had they not been prevented by OCP officers, would have resulted in cocaine flooding our streets.

Stoica, 35, used the handle "Palefog" to organise the handover of drugs by fellow Albanians Muhamet Quosja and Eduard Hadjini. They acted as runners for Stoica and were jailed for 10 years and three years respectively last year.

Quosja, 30, was arrested by OCP officers on October 13, 2020, when he was found in possession of £23,000 in cash.

A handgun with 20 rounds of ammunition and 11 kilos of cocaine, with a street value of £1.1 million, were subsequently recovered from his home in Ilford, Essex.

Quosja’s phone was searched and contained a contact called "Daku", an Albanian term for friend, which matched Stoica’s number. Messages show an exchange between the two men, with Stoica directing Quosja to a postcode to handover cocaine.

Hadjini, 39, who lived close to Stoica in Abbey Wood, was arrested on April 1, 2021 after officers followed him in his car to Bristol. It had been loaded with one kilo of cocaine which he was due to handover to Thomas Scarrett, 28.

Hadjini was arrested alongside fellow dealer Sokol Ajazi, 36, around a month after the Bristol exchange.

Officers searched a garage, seizing three more kilos of cocaine. The combined value of these drugs, plus an additional two kilos Hadjini handed to another dealer the previous month, could have fetched around £360,000 if sold on UK streets.

Ajazi and Scarrett were both arrested and later sentenced to five years and two months and six years respectively.

Stoica was detained by OCP officers near his home in Brampton Road on June 30, 2021. He had three mobile phones and more than £4,000 in his possession. A further £12,000 was recovered from his house.

He was subsequently charged with three counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine and one count of money laundering. He admitted these offences at Woolwich Crown Court on October 6 last year and was jailed for 10 years at the same court today.

The OCP is a joint partnership between the National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police Service Unit.

Mr Tickner said: “Through this strong partnership we’re able to target those higher up the drug supply chain and having a significant impact at a local level.

"This investigation demonstrates the commitment of the OCP to ensure drug dealers and money launderers like Stoica are brought to justice."