The four men were sentenced to a total of 36 years in prison in July last year after pleading guilty at Southwark Crown Court to conspiracy to supply cocaine.

MPS officers, working together with officers HM Revenue and Customs, presented a case to recover the criminal proceeds derived from these offences, including the properties, vehicles and cash accounts of the four men.

On Friday 25 November, the judge ruled they will each be expected to pay back the following:

Julian Whiteway to pay back £2,137500
Milroy Nadarajah to pay back £1,556243
James Long to pay back £11800
Tom Conell to pay back £891

The men were convicted following Operation Airborne which began in September 2003 with the arrests of Long and Nadarajah.  This led to the recovery of cocaine with an estimated value of over one million pounds as well as cash and cannabis.

In March this year officers from the MPS and Customs went on to win the Best Practice in Asset Recovery category at the Home Office Tackling Drugs Supply awards. The dedicated team also received MPS Commendations At the Tower of London for their work on Operation Airborne.