Female Criminal Ring Sentenced for Smuggling Cocaine Valued at £13.6million

An all-female group linked to a substantial cocaine trafficking scheme in the UK has been handed prison sentences for their role in smuggling drugs valued at £13.6million.

The syndicate was part of a network that delivered over 170 kilos of high- purity cocaine across various locations in the UK within a four-month period, utilizing encrypted messaging, secret passwords, and rapid last-minute drop- off locations to avoid detection.

Their operation was disrupted when a courier was apprehended in London while transporting a significant quantity of cocaine worth £80,000.

Investigators from the Organised Crime Partnership, a collaborative unit comprising the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police, uncovered this conspiracy, which had been consistently supplying large amounts of Class A drugs to the capital.

From April to August 2022, the criminal network moved cocaine believed to be worth £13.6million on the streets.

Couriers were dispatched nationwide, coordinating through the secure messaging app Wickr and employing codenames and ever-changing locations to evade law enforcement.

The downfall of the operation began on June 16, 2022, when Arvinder Bains, 39, from Telford, was stopped by police during a delivery run in London.

Upon searching his vehicle, officers discovered 10 kilos of compressed cocaine, estimated to have a street value of £80,000.

A forensic analysis of his phone revealed extensive details about the broader conspiracy, indicating he was part of an organized plan to distribute 22 kilos of cocaine that very day.

Law enforcement identified Shahrukh Hummayiun, 29, from Wolverhampton, as the ringleader who directed three female couriers – Sindija Virse, 28, Gabriele Trinkunaite, 26, and Rubanpreet Kaur, 26.

Messages retrieved from the group indicated how they coordinated meeting locations, shared vehicle information – including the Nissan X-Trail driven by Bains – and managed precise timelines for drug handovers.

Additional evidence suggested that they even scouted areas prior to delivery. The day before Bains’ arrest, Hummayiun messaged him, stressing that everything must be prepared for the operation.

The gang’s meticulously planned scheme began to unravel in January last year as authorities moved in to arrest key members.

Trinkunaite was apprehended by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit on January 14, 2025.

Hummayiun attempted to escape the country the following day but was detained at Gatwick Airport while trying to board a flight to Dubai.

Kaur and Virse were also arrested on January 15 at their respective residences.

All five members of this conspiracy have been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to a combined total of 30 years and five months in prison.

Detective Inspector Richard Smith from the Organised Crime Partnership commented, 'This criminal enterprise was sophisticated and extensive. The group callously provided multiple communities with dangerous Class A drugs, disregarding the potential consequences.'

He added, 'Thanks to the dedicated work of our investigators, we were able to dismantle this network and mitigate the risk they presented to the public.'

Hummayiun received a sentence of ten years and nine months for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Trinkunaite acknowledged her role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to seven years and eight months.

Kaur was also jailed for five years and four months after pleading guilty to similar charges.

Virse, admitting to conspiracy to supply cocaine, received a sentence of six years and eight months.

Bains had been previously convicted of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, receiving a nine-year sentence at Woolwich Crown Court in December 2022.