A RUBERY man who headed up two organised crime groups has been jailed for ten years and eight months.

Albanian Ilir Vogli, 40, of Barrington Road, was charged with conspiracy to supply a class A drug, namely cocaine, and conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property.

A total of 11 people were charged for their involvement in the activity, which included the distribution of high-purity cocaine. Eight of the others were given prison sentences ranging from 22 months to ten years. Two more were given suspended sentences.

An investigation into the conspiracy - Operation Solute - was launched in April 2012 by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit − Serious and Organised Crime (EMSOU-SOC).

In the two months that followed, police intercepted three deliveries of cocaine being made and examinations showed the drug had a purity level of 81 per cent.

In court it was estimated that, based on the likely number of deliveries of the drug made, which dated back to 2009, and by cutting it with other substances to prepare it for sale, the total street value of the drugs could have been more than £1million.

Vogli laundered much of the money he made from the drug sales by sending it to associates and relatives in Albania, and also in Italy.

Financial investigation work found 55 cash transactions totalling more than £125,000 were made by Vogli or others on his behalf to associates abroad.

The deputy senior investigating officer, Det Sgt Harry Rai, said it was a complex operation because of the sheer number of people involved.

"Vogli used willing associates both here and abroad to help him initiate a high-purity cocaine supply ring and to transfer the cash he made from the operation out of the country.

“Once EMSOU launched its investigation it soon became clear that the two organised crime groups involved had a geographic reach that virtually extended across the whole of the Midlands, from West to East."