Jerome Omard and Alain Kirunda-Nsirro used a Walthamstow post office to send heroin packages to paying customers across the country

Jerome Omard (left) and Alain Kirunda-Nsiiro, Credit: SEROCU

Two men who used a Walthamstow post office to send heroin packages to customers across the country have been jailed.

Jerome Omard, of Durban Road, and Alain Kirunda-Nsirro, of Higham Hill Road, were sentenced to 54 months (four years and three months) and 135 months (11 years and 3 months) in jail respectively.

The pair were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Monday (13th October) following an investigation by the cyber team in the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU).

The investigation began in 2022 after Malcom Magala, a 37-year-old from Portsmouth, was identified as being behind an online persona which had been selling heroin and crack cocaine on various dark web marketplaces since 2020.

It was then established that Kirunda-Nsiiro, 39, was working with Magala and was responsible for preparing and shipping orders to customers.

This role was later taken over by Omard, 44, with Kirunda-Nsiiro becoming involved in taking orders for the drugs through crypto-currency.

Both Omard and Kirunda-Nsiiro used a Post Office in Walthamstow to post the packages of drugs to customers.

Once the SEROCU investigation began, cryptocurrency payments and customer parcels were tracked, and on 26 July 2022, officers intercepted Omard when he was on his way to the Post Office.

His home was searched, and officers located 138g of heroin hidden inside a music speaker, as well as more drugs hidden at other locations in his property.

At the same time as this arrest, officers intercepted Magala who was driving at the time. His vehicle was stopped and he was found in possession of £3,150 of crypto-currency, as well as crypto-currency hardware. His home was searched and a small pill press was discovered, along with small quantities of pills.

Kirunda-Nsiiro was arrested a few days afterwards.

Magala was sentenced to 11 years and three months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to supply class A drugs (namely cocaine and heroin), and acquiring criminal property. He pleaded guilty at a hearing on 18 February this year.

Detective Inspector Rob Bryant of SEROCU said: “These three men were involved in a complex operation to take orders for class A drugs over the dark web and then distributing them across the country using the postal service.

“Our investigation showed the extent of their crimes, and I am pleased that they have all been given prison sentences today, meaning that they are no longer able to send harmful and addictive drugs to their customers, which cause misery to so many people.

“I hope that this shows criminals that their activities on the dark web are detectable and that we can and do monitor their behaviour before carrying out arrests and bringing them before the courts.”

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