A drug lord behind a plot to bring £1million worth of drugs into the UK has been jailed – after being caught out by one of his own social media photos. Wellington Rodriguez Pena, from Wolverhampton, had planned for smugglers to bring 14kg of cocaine into the country in two operations.
Coventry Live reports that the 24-year-old used a fake name to book return flights to Aruba for two couriers on consecutive days in October 2016.
But CCTV recovered by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers caught him in the act at a travel agents in Coventry – where he was wearing a distinctive red top, leather jacket and bright red shoes.
And Rodriguez Pena – a Dutch national – was rumbled when officers found images of him in the exact same outfit on his own social media.
Husband and wife Esteban Berenguer Buhigas, aged 57 and Ana Maria Perez Davila, 37, were arrested as they returned to Manchester Airport on November 1, 2016.
Border Force officers seized 10kg of cocaine hidden within false sides of their suitcases.
The pair were subsequently jailed for six years and four years respectively.
In a second importation bid Rafeal Canovas Simo, aged 53 and from Majorca, attempted to smuggle 4kg of cocaine into Heathrow Airport.
Canovas Simo was jailed for seven years and five months.
Evidence showed that Rodriguez Pena had also arranged his travel and had sent him money prior to the importation bid.
After being flagged as wanted by the NCA, Rodriguez Pena was arrested by police officers as he tried to board a flight at Gatwick Airport on February 17.
On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to two counts of importing Class A drugs at Croydon Crown Court.