Four jailed for drug trafficking and money laundering offences

A man who tried to supply £60,000 worth of cocaine in Jersey has been jailed for more than 11 years.

Venezuelan-born Javier Gomez, 30, was convicted after Customs officers uncovered 240g of cocaine hidden inside a battery pack.

As a result of Operation Mink, run by the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service Unit (JCIS), he was arrested on 11 April 2025 with a French national, Byron Giraldo, who had arrived in Jersey the previous day.

On the day of the arrest, JCIS had the two men under surveillance and minutes after Gomez collected Giraldo, they switched vehicles.

They were then seen doing it a second time before being arrested at Gomez' home address in St Saviour.

An examination of the first vehicle they were using, an Audi TT, uncovered over £9,500 in a rucksack on the back seat, along with a set of digital scales hidden under the floor of the boot, which tested positive to the presence of cocaine.

A financial investigation then confirmed that over the previous 18 months, Gomez had received over £25,000 from the account of his mother, Venezuelan-born Mariela Josefina Gomez Marquez, 55.

Over the same period of time, Gomez had deposited over £26,000 in cash into his account and Gomez Marquez had deposited over £33,000 into her account, which she later admitted Gomez had given to her.

Gomez, over the same period, also received over £18,000 from Alan Vieira Rodrigues, 29, and over £21,000 from Angel Gonzalez Quesada, 35.

When Gonzalez Queseda was arrested by customs officers, he was found in possession of £6,000, which was also seized as the suspected proceeds of crime.

During a JCIS interview on 3 July 2025, Gomez asked for some personal items inside the Audi TT to be returned to him, specifically his battery power pack.

Officers then found it and after examination, discovered a highly sophisticated concealment containing nearly 240g of cocaine, with a purity of 82%.

Gomez was sentenced to 11 and-a-half years behind bars - 11 years for the drugs offences, and six months for perverting the course of justice.

Quesada and Marquez each received sentences of three years, with Rodrigues jailed for two-and-a-half years.

JCIS Senior Manager, Luke Goddard, said:

"Operation Mink was a complex and lengthy investigation, carried out by our Investigation Unit.

"This successful prosecution demonstrates the capability JCIS has in taking on criminal syndicates using professional measures to conceal drugs, launder money and carrying out counter measures such as switching vehicles in an attempt to throw off any law enforcement activity.

"It also shows that we will prosecute members of syndicates involved in criminality who may be a step away from the movement of illicit drugs across our border."