Wesley Candida, his wife Vanessa, and Louviral Antonio Netto are all accused of running an organized crime gang with Jefferson Carvalhaes and Franciele Barros Da Silva. Prosecutors say the gang was run by WhatsApp groups under the name, ‘UberEats’.
A Brazilian gang posed as Deliveroo workers to sell chemsex drugs, MDMA, and cocaine, a court has heard. Jefferson Carvalhaes and his girlfriend, Franciele Barros Da Silva ran the drug enterprise with an “army” of delivery drivers.
The city of London Police seized cocaine, MDMA, and crystal meth worth over £400,000 from six addresses in the capital last December. Carvalhaes & Da Silva have since fled, but Wesley Candida (aged 30) has admitted to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Vanessa, his wife denies being involved.
Louviral Antonio Netto, 29, also denies conspiracy to supply, possession of the criminal property – namely £40,000 found at the home she shared with her husband at the time of the arrest in Hawthorns, Woodford Green. Carvalhaes was the previous owner of the property, as was his partner.
Tyrone Silcott, prosecuting, told the jury at Inner London Crown Court: “The allegation against each of these defendants is that they agreed with others to supply class A drugs.”
“The Crown will present evidence that we can say make you sure that they agreed with other people to supply class A drugs and that each of them played a role within the organized criminal group and that group’s primary purpose is to supply class A drugs. The OCG (organized crime gang) supplied illegal drugs to customers in London and the South-East.”
“Primarily those drugs were provided for chemsex purposes, a combination of Class A drugs used to have a high but also to enhance the sexual experience.”
Mr. Silcott said the deliveries were made by couriers on mopeds who carried drugs both on their person and in bags. He added: “The OCG sought to conceal its activities and one way that it did so was by using delivery bags branded with the ‘Deliveroo’ logo – hiding in plain sight if you like.”
The court heard the gang communicated through WhatsApp groups, one under the moniker “Uber Eats” and another “Fechamento.” Carvalhaes and Da Silva were first arrested on December 17, 2019, after large amounts of MDMA, drug paraphernalia, and £13,000, were found in their Range Rover.
The couple owned companies that went by the name of Treats and Afters Ltd, New Home 4you Ltd and Over the Moon coffee shop Ltd, all of which were a “front,” jurors heard. Prosecutors say they can prove a close relationship between Carvalhaes and Da Silva and Jefferson and Franciele.
Mr. Silcott told the court: “Mr. Candida was a leading organizer in that he had access to the addresses controlled by the OCG and in Jefferson’s absence, still under Jefferson’s direction, he oversaw stock control and organized the delivery of drugs to customers using the WhatsApp group. He became Jefferson’s man on the ground.”
In regards to Mr. Netto, the prosecutor said: “Mr. Netto was an administrator within this organized criminal group.
“The evidence against him comes mainly in the form of telephone messages between a control number 8379 and the WhatsApp group between 8379 and Jefferson, and between 8379 and Wesley Candida.
“Mr. Netto has never been seen or found with a handset that has the number 8379 in it. This is unlike the others, Jefferson, Mr. Candida, or Mrs. Candida. Mr Netto was arrested on December 5, two days after Mrs Candida.
“It will not be disputed that 8379 was for some period a control number for the OCG. However, it will not be disputed that the person who controlled that number during that period was guilty of conspiring in the supply of Class A drugs. The question is whether that was Mr. Netto.