A 30-year-old man from Clayhall has been sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to supply heroin.

%image(15069604, type="article-full", alt="Some of the drugs were "hidden" in the fridge")

Oaiemute Aroriode, of Bay Tree Close was involved with a sophisticated criminal gang which bought and sold huge quantities of heroin worth about £4.5 million.

He appeared at Southwark Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty and was the last member of the six strong criminal gang to be sentenced.

The gang was put under surveillance by a specialist police team which culminated in them finding vast amount of class A drugs and half a million pounds in cash hidden in a flat in Kent.

The gang were linked to numerous addresses which included one with a heroin factory in the garage, complete with hydraulic press, and another where drugs had been hidden in the fridge.

Det Insp Grant Johnson, who led the operation, said: “This was a thorough and complex investigation which has stopped vast quantities of potentially lethal drugs from making it onto the streets.

“Our message is clear - if you deal in drugs we will find you, we will arrest you and you will be put in front of the courts to face the consequences.”