Inside the trap set by police to catch the Mexican drugs cartel infiltrating the UK with crystal meth

This is how police officers set a clever trap to catch a Mexican drugs cartel infiltrating the UK with crystal meth. 

In the latest episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody on Channel 4, viewers were given the inside track on a major police operation that led to the seizure of drugs worth over £1.5 million in Norwich. 

Cameras followed the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, which specialises in tackling serious and organised crime, as they began a covert operation against a Latin American cartel, which they believe were importing huge quantities of drugs into the UK. 

Police then seized a package from Colombia at Stansted Airport containing just shy of 1kg of cocaine packed in a boat part, with a wholesale value of £30,000. 

After finding the drugs hidden in the secret compartment, detectives realised they could potentially break the international crime gang by exploiting their discovery. 

They decided to replace them with dummy drugs and allow the fake cargo to be delivered to their final destination.

In nail-biting scenes, surveillance teams watched as the consignment was delivered to a luxury property in Norwich and the order was given to move in to make arrests. 

Officers found Mexican national Axel Cruz living in the apartment, who was taken into custody. A search revealed a large quantity of a substance which resembles shards of glass with a strong chemical smell. 

Forensic analysis then established that the substance was a whopping 11.8 kilos of methyl-amphetamine, otherwise known as crystal meth – a highly addictive drug that can be manufactured synthetically in large quantities. 

Cruz, a tattooist, said the bags were for his ‘ink’, but officers soon confirmed the very suspicious substance stashed inside a bag for life, covered in a watermelon pattern.  

As officers explained, the huge quantity of the Class A drug had a street value of £1.2million.

‘It looks like it’s from Breaking Bad,’ one exclaimed.  

Cruz initially denied any knowledge of having cocaine in his apartment, saying in a police interview: ‘To be honest I woke up to a guy knocking at my door, he was standing there with a box. 

‘I was half asleep and I accepted it, took it in, I don’t know, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to open it.’

He added it was ‘all a big coincidence’ – but when officers brought up the crystal meth, he asked to speak to his solicitor. 

He said: ‘I had no clue about that. I’ve never seen that in my life. I would have chucked that in the f***ing river.’

But after more questioning, he could no longer deny his guilt – but did admit he didn’t know who was in charge of the overall operation. 

It was revealed that the dangerous drug – rarely found in the UK – had entered the retail drugs market with potentially devastating consequences. 

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Birch admits in the show: ‘It’s a huge concern to see the cartel trying to infiltrate our region. 

‘The cartels are so prolific, all they want is to be able to flood the market here with their commodity.’ 

Axel Cruz pleaded guilty to the importation of cocaine and methyl-amphetamine – he was sentenced to 16 years in prison and will be deported when he has finished his sentence. 

As explained in the programme, he had one previous conviction for the possession of a machete.

Elsewhere, the programme also featured the stories of Toby Bunting and Daniel Fordham – who had also been recruited by cartels. 

Bunting was sentenced to 2 years and six months for possession with intent to supply, while Fordham was sentenced to 10 years. 

24 Hours In Police Custody is available to stream now on Channel 4.