Three women who acted as couriers in a sophisticated cocaine trafficking operation that moved more than 170 kilograms of the drug across the United Kingdom in four months have been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court, as part of a group handed a combined 30 years and five months behind bars.
The Organised Crime Partnership, a joint unit between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Metropolitan Police, uncovered the conspiracy after stopping courier Arvinder Bains in London on June 16, 2022. A search of his vehicle revealed 10 kilograms of compressed, high-purity cocaine with a street value of £80,000. Analysis of his seized mobile phone revealed he was part of a coordinated plan to supply 22 kilograms of the drug that day alone.
Shahrukh Hummayiun, 29, from Wolverhampton, co-ordinated the movements of three couriers: Sindija Virse, 28, from Lower Stondon, Gabriele Trinkunaite, 26, and Rubanpreet Kaur, 26, both from Wolverhampton. Between April and August 2022, the network transported cocaine with an estimated street value of £13.6 million to locations across the country, using passwords, codenames and the encrypted messaging platform Wickr, with drop-off locations shared at the last minute to avoid detection.
The operation unravelled in January 2025 when officers moved in. Trinkunaite was detained by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit on January 14. Hummayiun attempted to flee to Dubai the following day but was intercepted at Gatwick Airport. Kaur and Virse were arrested at their home addresses the same day.
Hummayiun was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and sentenced to 10 years and nine months. Trinkunaite admitted the same charge and received seven years and eight months. Kaur was jailed for five years and four months after pleading guilty. Virse also admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to six years and eight months. Bains had previously been convicted at Woolwich Crown Court in December 2022 and was sentenced to nine years.
Detective Inspector Richard Smith of the Organised Crime Partnership said the group had brazenly supplied multiple communities with dangerous class A drugs without regard for the consequences, and credited the dedicated work of investigators for dismantling the network.
