MEMBERS of a cocaine trafficking and money-laundering ring have been jailed after an investigation uncovered drugs concealed in a power bank.
Javier Oswaldo Ospino Gomez (30), the operation’s lead in Jersey, was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison at the Royal Court on Friday.
His mother, Mariela Josefina Gomez Marquez (55), and associate Angel Daniel Gonzalez Quesada (35) were each jailed for three years for money-laundering offences.
Alan Patrick Vieira Rodrigues (29) received two-and-a-half years.
The court heard that the enterprise had operated for several years, with numerous successful importations before Customs officers discovered 239.72g of high-purity cocaine inside a battery charger.
Setting out the case, Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit described the importation method as “brazen”.
Two people remain on the run abroad in connection with the case, with warrants issued for their arrest, following the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service investigation known as Operation Mink.
The court heard that a courier arrived in Jersey in April 2025 carrying a power bank which was examined and x-rayed by Customs officers before being returned to him.
Officers placed him and Gomez under surveillance. The following day, Gomez collected him at Green Street roundabout before the pair switched vehicles twice.
Gomez also changed his T-shirt and put on a hat in an attempt to evade surveillance.
They were arrested outside Gomez’s home in St Saviour.
A search of the Audi TT initially used by the pair revealed £9,740 in a rucksack on the rear passenger seat. Cocaine traces were found on the boot lining and digital scales hidden beneath its floor.
The drugs inside the power bank went undetected until July 2025, when Gomez requested its return from the seized car.
An officer became suspicious about its weight. The device was examined and opened, revealing cocaine with a purity of 82%.
Gomez played “a central role” in the enterprise, arranging cocaine distribution and paying for the courier’s travel.
He also deposited criminal cash into his own accounts and entered money-laundering arrangements with Quesada, Rodrigues and Marquez.
Gomez, Rodrigues and Quesada pleaded guilty. Marquez was convicted after a trial in which she maintained that she did not know or suspect that her son’s money came from drugs.
Advocate Darry Robinson, representing Gomez, described his client’s difficult upbringing in Venezuela, where a cousin with whom he lived was murdered.
“This had a profound emotional impact on him. I think it would for most people,” he said.
He said Gomez maintained that he did not sell drugs himself and had family responsibilities.
His prison behaviour had been “exemplary”, said Advocate Robinson, and Gomez had raised £2,000 for mental health support.
Advocate James Bell sought community service for Rodrigues, whose role was “limited to the laundering of criminal proceeds”.
He said Rodrigues pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, expressed remorse and stopped offending “of his own volition” at the end of 2024 – months before the operation was rumbled.
While some cash paid into his account was legitimate savings and barbering income, Advocate Bell argued, the court could only be sure of £18,140 transferred to Gomez.
Advocate James Corbett also sought community service for Quesada, arguing that he “is not himself a dealer” but “fell into” money-laundering through his friendship with Gomez.
Quesada had used his time in custody since February to gain qualifications in mathematics and English, and a senior staff member described him as “a model prisoner”.
Advocate Ian Jones said Marquez was of previous good character and had a good work record.
He argued that she had not benefited from the laundering, although Commissioner Patricia Lees questioned whether she might benefit from a house bought in Venezuela.
“Had she known what was going on, she would never have got involved,” said Advocate Jones.
Commissioner Lees presided with Jurats Christensen, Averty and Opfermann.
