Operation Trident bring massive drug ring to an end.

A GANG of Hackney drug traffickers and dealers caught with more than �5 million of heroin have been sentenced to 98 years in jail.

Harold Morris, 46, of Glyn Road, Homerton, his niece Shelon Morris, 34, of Mare Street, Hackney Central, Delroy Small, 33, of Garham Close, Stoke Newington, Hikmet Sevim, 45, of Ilford, and Florina Burducea, 39, of Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, had their illegal business smashed by Operation Trident following a huge investigation which began in September last year.

Ms Morris and Small, operating from a flat in Raven Row, Tower Hamlets, were the pair in charge of bringing heroin into east London.

From there Sevim and Burducea would take it and distribute it to Mr Morris who acted as a wholesale distributor within east London.

The drugs came from Europe via Turkey and Romania.

Small rented the flat they operated from in a false name to evade detection and the gang used vans to transport boxes of heroin to and from their customers.

On September 18 2009, Small was stopped by police in a Volkswagen Golf and officers recovered two kilos of heroin from his car wrapped in a bag. Officers then searched the flat and found a further 20 kilos of heroin, worth around �1.5 million.

They also recovered over �177,000 in cash and seized a drugs ledger containing all of the gang’s customers’ details.

Forensic evidence presented at court highlighted that the ledgers contained the fingerprints of both Shelon Morris, who was arrested shortly after, and Small.

On March 4 2010, officers observed Mr Morris, helped by Sevim, taking a number of brown cardboard boxes from a blue Mitsubishi Carisma and loading them into a van which was parked in a cash and carry car park in Finsbury Park. Burducea sat in the passenger seat.

Officers arrested all three on the same day and recovered 96.7 kilos of heroin worth more than �5 million in cardboard boxes from the back of the van that Mr Morris was seen driving.

All three were arrested.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday December 21 Ms Morris and Small were sentenced to 18 years each for drug trafficking while Sevim and Burducea were given 22 years each for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and Mr Morris 18 years also for conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Det Insp Chris Jones, from Trident, said: “Today’s convictions coupled with the seizure of such a significant quantity of heroin will have seriously undermined the activities of a number of criminal networks across London. The individuals concerned were driven by personal greed and gave no thought to the misery caused through the unlawful supply of heroin within London’s communities.”

Det Ch Insp Kenny McDonald, also from Trident, said: “Trident continues to be at the forefront of prosecuting those individuals across London who are having the greatest detrimental impact on our communities. The convictions today are another example of the excellent and the continued partnership of Trident with local Boroughs. Together we will use all lawful means to identify and apprehend those engaged in serious criminality”