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International drug dealer jailed after airport find

Essex Police Custody photo of Samson Kuteyi who is wearing a black tracksuit with a white top underneathEssex Police
Samson Kuteyi has been jailed for six years

An international drug dealer who tried to import cannabis through Stansted Airport has been jailed for six years.

Samson Kuteyi, of Nags Head Road, Enfield, North London, was selling cannabis on a commercial stage with at least seven members of staff.

The 32-year-old sold drugs direct and to other dealers who would then start their own drug lines.

He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs among other charges and was jailed after a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Essex Police Drugs wrapped up in vacuum wrapped packagesEssex Police
During their search, Border Force found drugs in vacuum wrapped packages weighing roughly half a kilo each

Kuteyi also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug and two counts of copying a false instrument with intent to be accepted as genuine, the court heard on Tuesday.

Kuteyi was arrested prior to boarding a flight from Heathrow Airport to Los Angeles on 22 April 2023 in connection for an unrelated matter.

Police seized two phones, more than £7,000 and $500 in cash, and a Rolex worth nearly £43,000.

Essex Police said after the phones were examined, it became clear he was involved in buying large amounts of cannabis in the USA and Canada and importing it into the UK.

Kuteyi had imported between 89 and 95kg of cannabis between 27 February 2023 and 21 April 2023.

More than 23kg of the drug was seized by Border Force at Stansted Airport before it was able to reach its intended destination between August 2022 and June 2023.

Border Force found drugs in vacuum wrapped packages weighing roughly half a kilo each.

All of the packages were being sent from the USA to addresses in the UK, but police and Border Force were able to link the airway bill reference numbers back to Kuteyi.

Officers said Kuteyi was involved in the supply of at least 14kg of cannabis to people within the UK.

Acting Det Insp Mike Monkton said the sale of drugs and violence went "hand-in-hand".

He added: "Samson Kuteyi was an international drug dealer involved in selling cannabis on a commercial scale, employing at least seven people.

"Drugs are a poison on our society, infecting communities, and ruining lives.

"We will now work to seize Kuteyi’s ill-gotten gains through the Proceeds of Crime Act."

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