Rigers Myqelefi, of Harland Street in Ipswich, was sentenced to 38 months in jail at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, 1 August. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession with intent to supply cannabis, possession of an offensive weapon and two counts of false documentation.
The details: On Thursday, 3 July, Sentinel team officers witnessed Myqelefi leave his Harland Street address on an electric bicycle. When they approached, he evaded police by manoeuvring around their vehicle and rode off at speed.
Officers later found the discarded bicycle on Portman Road. A member of the public told police they had seen a man run towards the Portman Road car park, where officers subsequently found Myqelefi concealed within the chassis of a Royal Mail van.
A search following his arrest uncovered an iPhone, 11 bags of cocaine hidden in a cigarette box and a set of keys.
The bigger picture: A subsequent search of a flat in Harland Street revealed the scale of the operation - 45 bags of cocaine, 16 bags of cannabis, £2,640 in cash, four mobile phones, a fraudulent driving licence and a yellow knuckle duster.
Phone evidence showed Myqelefi had sent messages advertising cocaine sales to 80 contacts and had been coordinating direct sales with customers and managing deliveries.
For context: During interview, Myqelefi said his involvement was due to a debt following the theft of a previous quantity of drugs. He had been wanted by police since 2022 for driving offences and possession of fraudulent identification documents.
The three Sentinel teams across Suffolk provide enhanced coverage of the county's road network to proactively disrupt serious and organised criminal activity whilst increasing police visibility.
The bottom line: Anyone who suspects drug activity can report it via www.suffolk.police.uk/contact-us/report-something/report-crime, call 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or 0800 555 111.
