Adam Szendzielorz, of Essendon, and accomplice James Puentes, both 28, have each been sentenced to 10 years.

Adam Szendzielorz, of Essendon, and accomplice James Puentes, both 28, have each been sentenced to 10 years.They were caught after customs officers intercepted a kilo postal-package of the drug. It was addressed to a lavishly kitted out North London council flat the pair used as a base.They had arranged for the £86,000 parcel to be sent from Costa Rica. But it was intercepted in May at London's Mount Pleasant postal depot. Police swapped the contents with baby powder, and officers posed as couriers to deliver it to the flat. Puentes answered the door and Szendzielorz arrived minutes later.The men, sporting £6,000 worth of of Rolex watches between them, were arrested as they left the flat. Officers found another £10,000 worth of cocaine.The flat, sublet from a council tenant, was kitted out with a plasma television, iPod docks and a tropical fish tank, and there was £300 worth of Champagne stashed in the fridge. Szendzielorz, who has not paid tax for nine years, was carrying a rucksack with around £5,000 of cocaine stuffed inside.The new delivery was found unopened inside the property, and a further £4,500 of the drug was found in a draw in Puentes' bedroom, along with £600 cash and Puentes' Spanish passport.The pair, who have no previous relevant convictions, attended St Aloysius School in Highgate together.But Szendzielorz developed a cocaine habit after his mother died in early 2005.John Hunter, defending, said Szendzielorz took up dealing to fund a drug habit which he developed after his mother died in 2005.Szendzielorz, of Glebe Close, Essendon, and Puentes, of Kentish Town, north London, each denied importing cocaine.Szendzielorz denied converting criminal property but admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply in respect of the £10,000 cocaine haul.Puentes denied possessing and converting criminal property and possession with intent.They were convicted of all charges at Blackfriars Crown Court last month. Sentencing them last Thursday, judge Miss Recorder Joanna Korner QC, said: "Both of you have been engaged together in drug dealing for some time, certainly for a period of at least a year.

Police today arrested a woman suspected of being a ringleader behind a multi-million pound series of smash-and-grab raids on fashion stores .

Police today arrested a woman suspected of being a ringleader behind a multi-million pound series of smash-and-grab raids on fashion stores in the West End. The woman, and two men, all in their twenties, were held in dawn raids on six addresses in north London. The arrests came as police revealed that motorcycle gangs have carried out 143 raids on stores in central London since January. In total, the gangs have seized more than £3 million worth of goods, an average of £24,000 in each raid. In today's operation, detectives from the Westminster central crime squad recovered suspected stolen goods, including designer handbags, sunglasses and clothes. The officers swooped on four houses and two lock-up garages in Islingtonand Tottenham. All three arrested were being interviewed at a central London police station today. The move follows mounting concern among West End stores over a new spate of robberies involving gangs on stolen scooters and motorcycles in lightning operations. Stores targeted include Anya Hindmarch's handbag shop in New Bond Street, Jimmy Choo shoes and Asprey jewellers. The motorbike gangs were known to include at least one female member. In March this year, a witness saw a woman pillion passenger clutching several stolen handbags after a raid on the Salvatore Ferragamo store in Old Bond Street. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Roycroft said today: "Today's raids were part of a long-term operation against smash-and-grab robbers in the West End which the Met takes extremely seriously. These are very organised gangs and we are determined to target them." Police believe the individuals involved in the raids are known to each other in a loosely-linked group. The gangs are believed to be making millions of pounds reselling the designer items on the black market. Shops have been advised not to display goods in windows overnight and to install shutters, but the precautions have done little to prevent the robberies continuing. In one series of raids last year, a detective likened the gangs' operations to something out of the film Mission: Impossible. The teams would load stolen motorcycles - with licence plates removed - into the back of a van and drive into central London. Once close to the target store, the motorbikes would roar out of the van, race to the target, smash the front windows with sledgehammers and grab as much as they could before escaping.
Often, the gang would load the bikes back into the van and calmly drive away, explaining why the police were often mystified as to how their getaway route was not picked up on CCTV cameras. Detectives from the Westminster crime squad carried out a series of arrests last year, but one senior officer said: "The proceeds from these raids are so great that there is always someone else to step into their shoes."
Police believe those arrested today are all ringleaders of at least one gang.