Teenager from Barnet among those who admitted their involvement in the trafficking of children between London and Hull

Clockwise from top left; Michael Dos Santos, Enriko Kadima, Junior Monakana and Sabriye Remzi

Four drug dealers – including a 19-year-old from Barnet – have been sentenced after they all admitted their involvement in a ‘county lines’ network which trafficked two missing children between London and Hull.

Michael Dos Santos of Redwood Way in Barnet, Enriko Kadima of no fixed address, Junior Monakana of Chadwell Heath and Sabriye Remzi of Addison Road in Enfield Highway all pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court during their trial in May for a range of drug offences, and were sentenced at the same court last week.

The guilty pleas came after officers from the Metropolitan Police’s county lines drug dealing probe – ‘Operation Orochi’ – presented them with extensive CCTV evidence and communication data which proved their criminality, even without corroborating statements from the children.

Detectives began their investigation into the drugs lines which operated from London to Hull and supplied crack cocaine and heroin. The line, which was run by Monakana, issued out bulks of messages, multiple times a day, to up to 175 potential buyers at any one time.

Detectives discovered how in 8^th October last year Monakana, Kadima and Remzi travelled to Hull from London and back in Remzi’s vehicle. Also present was a 16-year-old missing boy from London. All four stayed in Hull overnight and the following day Monakana, Kadima and Remzi travelled back down to London. The child was left in Hull alone, in squalid conditions.

Again, on 11th October, Monakana, Remzi, Kadima and Dos Santos travelled to Hull, this time taking with them a 15-year-old boy who was reported missing from London. These individuals stayed in Hull overnight before Monakana and Remzi returned to London, leaving Dos Santos, Kadima and the two missing children in Hull.

Officers from Operation Orochi were notified of the second missing child by officers from the Met’s south-east missing person unit on 13th October. Officers were deployed to Hull the following day and located the two children and Kadima in an abandoned derelict building. Dos Santos was located in a neighbouring garden, having tried to escape out of the rear of the property while officers were forcing entry.

Upon searching the address police discovered relevant phone handsets, as well as clear evidence of the address being used for the storage, preparation and supply of crack cocaine and heroin. Police recovered a small amount of drugs in the property, with a larger amount found on the 15-year-old – approximately £150 worth.

Once the children were safeguarded, police moved in on Monakana, who was arrested in London. Again, the relevant phone handsets were seized for both. On 25th October Remzi was arrested at her home address.

Dos Santos, aged 19, was sentenced to four years’ and six months imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and arranging or facilitating the travel of another with a view to exploit under Section 2 of the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015 (human trafficking).

Kadima, aged 20, was sentenced to six years’ and four months imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and arranging or facilitating the travel of another with a view to exploit under Section 2 of the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015 (human trafficking).

Monakana, aged 23, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, crack cocaine and heroin.

Remzi, aged 26, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment (suspended for two years) and 250 hours unpaid work for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

PC Jack Hardwick, from Operation Orochi, said: “This sentence sends a message that the use of children as drug runners is taken seriously by the Met. This was a victimless prosecution, in that neither child supplied a statement to police.

“This confirms that those that seek to exploit children from London will be caught, arrested and face justice even without victim cooperation.”

Since Operation Orochi was set up in November 2019, the Met has worked in partnership with 26 county forces to target and close county lines, bringing offenders to justice. Since April 2022, 23 police operations have helped rescue 33 children from county lines exploitation, with 31 people charged with modern slavery offences.

Catch 22 is a specialist support and rescue service for young people and their families who are criminally exploited through county lines. For more information:
Visit catch-22.org.uk/find-services/county-lines-support-and-rescue

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