Wembley man jailed for £8m drugs plot loses appeal
Gent Gasa has lost his appeal - Credit: Archant
A Wembley man who acted as a go-between in a plot to flood the streets of London with £8million of cocaine and heroin has failed in an Appeal Court bid to clear his name.
Gent Gasa, of Barham Close, was jailed for 20 years at Kingston Crown Court in August last year after being found guilty of conspiring to supply class A drugs.
Today the 31-year-old challenged his conviction at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, with his lawyers arguing he did not receive a fair trial.
But his complaints were thrown out by top judges, who said there was no reason to doubt the ‘safety’ of the jury’s verdict.
The court heard Gasa, an Albanian national, acted as the middleman between Lukasz Gerboys, 31, from Finchley, and Carl Butler, 28, from Dagenham.
They were both jailed after admitting conspiracy to supply the class A drugs.
Police seized various hauls of cocaine and heroin, including one from Butler’s car, during a wide investigation by the Met’s central task force.
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Gasa’s lawyers argued his conviction should be overturned, saying prosecutors should have disclosed details of another investigation - which prompted police to delay his arrest.
They also said the jury should have been discharged after it became apparent these details had not been passed on to the defence.
But, dismissing his appeal, Mr Justice King said there was no need for further details to be revealed.
He also said the jury only became aware there was another investigation after Gasa lied in the witness box.
Sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Judge Michael Stokes QC, he added: “This was a situation Gasa brought upon himself.”
The court also dismissed an appeal against his jail term, saying it was ‘not excessive’ for his leading role in the plot.
Related link: Wembley man jailed for £8.4m drugs plot
