Heathrow handler 'was drug gang link'

A Heathrow Airport baggage handler doubled as a key "inside man" for a cocaine smuggling ring with links in South America, a court heard today.

Kamaljit Bassi, 40, was primed to use his position in the airside section of the airport to intercept baggage belonging to drugs couriers and slip their illegal cargo away without detection, Guildford Crown Court was told.

His role provided an "evasion mechanism" for the ring in a conspiracy to smuggle 11kg of cocaine into Britain on two separate flights from South America in one day, it is alleged.

But unknown to Bassi, of Park Lane, Hayes, the illegal cargo had already been intercepted by customs officials in Brazil and Barbados.

He and four co-defendants - Brian Emile, 49, of Beechwood Avenue, Greenford; Carlton Joseph, 54, from Finsbury Park Avenue, Harringay; Junior Royes, 39, of Compton Road, Kensal Green and Rachelle Chapman, 19, of Nightingale Square, Balham - were arrested on 16 February last year.

On that day, with Bassi on duty in Terminal One at Heathrow, Joseph and Chapman flew back to Britain from trips to South America with cocaine stashed in their baggage. Joseph, who was returning from Brazil, had six gift-wrapped parcels in his luggage containing 6.2kg of cocaine at 98 per cent purity.

Chapman, who flew in from Guyana via Barbados, had 4.8kg of cocaine partly as straight cocaine and partly crack disguised as food.

Andrew Bird, prosecuting, told the court that Bassi was to carry out the "crucial task" of accessing their bags and safely intercepting the drugs. Mr Bird said that Bassi's role was to "remove the forbidden cargo and take it out through controls using privileges that airport insiders have".

The court heard that Bassi, unaware that the drugs had already been switched for an innocuous substance by officials, took a rucksack and the giftwrapped packages from Joseph's baggage and put them in the boot of his Mercedes car. When he had finished his shift, he drove to a McDonald's car park on the North Circular where he met Royes. But the pair were both arrested and the packages recovered from the car boot.

Bassi denies two counts of conspiracy to import controlled drugs while Joseph, Chapman, Royes and Emile each deny one count of conspiracy to import drugs. The trial continues.