Cliff Notes – Love island star jailed for 14 years after role in huge drug smuggling ring exposed
- Magdalena Sadlo, a former contestant on the Polish version of Love Island, has been sentenced to 14 years for her involvement in a major international drug-smuggling operation, specifically conspiring to supply cocaine.
- Sadlo played a crucial role as the financial director of the drug ring, managing millions in transactions and overseeing the logistics of transporting large quantities of drugs, including cocaine, ketamine, and cannabis.
- The operation, described as one of the UK’s largest drug busts, has resulted in over 100 years of prison sentences for Sadlo and 12 other accomplices involved in the cartel.
Love Island star jailed for 14 years after role in huge drug smuggling ring exposed
Magdalena Sadlo has been jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to drug smuggling (Picture: Polsat; Merseyside Police)
A former Love Island star has been jailed for 14 years after assisting with a major international drug-smuggling operation.
Magdalena Sadlo appeared on the Polish version of ITV’s dating show in 2021.
The contestant was nicknamed Barbie, living in London at the time and describing herself to viewers as a ‘spontaneous, self-confident blonde who you can count on’.
Last July, she appeared at the Carlisle crown court, pleading guilty to conspiring to supply class A drug cocaine between March 2022 and May 2023.
The operation was known as one of the UK’s largest ever drug busts, with 30-year-old Sadlo originally detained by police last February after jetting into Heathrow from Dubai as part of an investigation codenamed Operation Matrix.
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At the time, she was flying first class with Emirates, sporting several flashy accessories purchased with profits from her crimes, including a £130,000 rose gold Patek Phillipe watch, a £30,000 Rolex, and Cartier jewellery.
She took part in Poland’s version of Love Island in 2021 (Picture: LinkedIn)
Sadlo had previously been brought in as the ring’s financial director, aiding with the transportation of hundreds of kilos of cocaine across the world and documenting transactions worth millions via spreadsheets.
She was working in hospitality in the Middle East as an ‘eye-opening’ amount of drugs made their way to UK streets.
As well as cocaine, she helped to organise shipments of ketamine and cannabis to Holland and then to Britain.
Explaining how significant her role was in the crime, prosecutor Tim Evans said the cartel could not have operated so effectively without her ‘efficiency’.
He said: ‘She not only manages the profits, costs, and expenses but also manages the stock levels.
‘She updates who has taken what, at what cost, from what batch, and the profit margins involved.
The 30-year-old (far left) previously described herself as ‘spontaneous’ and ‘self-confident’ (Picture: Polsat)
Sadlo joins 12 other men involved in the drug ring serving prison sentences (Picture: Instagram)
‘She is very much part of the inner circle… and is operating and seated at the very highest of tables.’
He added: ‘She clearly knew the scale and seriousness of the trade she was engaging in.
‘No organised crime group working at this level could operate or function without Magdalena Sadlo, or an equivalent, performing this role.’
Sadlo was also said to have been ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘relentless’ in her accounting, chastising other members when they did not meet her standards.
Meanwhile, over in the UK, Sadlo operated as a drug courier and collected cocaine when it was imported in Essex.
In total, it is thought to have been a £53million ‘Amazon-style drug dealing’ operation.
A further 12 men have been sentenced for their roles, with their stretches behind bars totalling more than 100 years.
Judge Nicholas Barker likened the activity to ‘unrolling a ball of wool around the world’.
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