A property in Esher was at the heart of an undercover police operation which has led to four people, including an Esher businessman, being convicted of cocaine smuggling.

The group, from across the Morden, Croydon and Esher area, delivered the drugs hidden in tins of Chinese cooking sauce from Guyana using courier companies.

Ringleader Ian Stephens, 41, from Aliwal Road, Battersea Rise, was jailed for 10 years, while husband and wife Elias Hajichambi, 39, and Sharan Hajichambi, 38, from Cherrywood Lane, Morden, were sentenced to five and two years respectively.

Esher businessman John Beaumont-Griffin, 47, from Winterdown Road, pleaded not guilty but was convicted by a jury at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, January 29. He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Detectives were alerted to the conspiracy after customs officers intercepted a suspect package destined for Esher on a British Airways flight last April.

Two food tins containing the Chinese sauce were x-rayed and then drilled, to reveal a kilo of cocaine with a street value of £100,000.

A further package of identical tins was intercepted two days later, addressed to a flat in Thornton Heath.

An undercover officer from Surrey Police’s Serious Crime Investigation Team then posed as a delivery man for the courier company, and delivered a package to the Esher address.

This led detectives to a further property in Morden, which resulted in three men and one woman being arrested and charged.

Detective Inspector Wendy Clay said: “Stephens and his group had clearly been using the route from Guyana to Gatwick to bring in significant amounts of cocaine for their own selfish gain.

“Surrey Police are committed to tackling head on the scourge of class A drugs and this case shows we will not tolerate their import, sale and supply.”

When officers searched the Hajichambi’s home they discovered a Tupperware box containing white power and £2,700 in cash in a bedside drawer. Stephens was also found to have a stab-proof vest and a Taser stun gun.

Beaumont-Griffin, 47, from Winterdown Road, pleaded not guilty but was convicted by a jury on Friday at Kingston Crown Court.

His Aston Martin DB9 was seized by police, as it had been used to transport drugs.

Detective Inspector Clay said: “This reinforces the message that crime doesn’t pay and if you use your vehicle while committing offences we will use the powers available to us to seize it.”

A subsequent investigation identified 19 linked packages sent to the UK from Guyana, with financial records showing Stephens had transferred £148,000 to Guyana.

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