A HEROIN dealer has been jailed for 22 years after police smashed a £5 million drugs ring.

Turkish national Hikmet Sevim, of Thurlow Gardens in Ilford, was convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, before being sentenced yesterday (December 21) at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Sevim, 45, organised the distribution of large quantities of heroin around the UK once it had been imported from mainland Europe.

Police saw him help other members of the ring load boxes of the drug into the back of a van in Finsbury Park on March 4, 2010.

He was arrested the same day and officers recovered nearly 97 kilograms of the drug, worth around £5 million.

Harold Morris, 46, also of Hackney, was sentenced to 18 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, while Romanian Florina Burducea, 39, from Tottenham, was sentenced to 22 years for the same offence.

The pair were caught by police on the same day as Sevim.

Harold Morris' niece, Shelon Morris, 34, and Delroy Small, 33, both of Hackney, were given 18 years for drug trafficking.

All five were said to be enjoying comfortable lifestyles from the proceeds of their crimes. Police have so far seized £187,000 in cash and several cars in an ongoing financial investigation.

Detective Inspector Chris Jones said: “Today's convictions coupled with the seizure of such a significant quantity of heroin will have seriously undermined the activities of a number of criminal networks across London.

“The individuals concerned were driven by personal greed and gave no thought to the misery caused through the unlawful supply of heroin within London's communities.”