Tucked away alongside a railway siding in a sleepy English hamlet, this unassuming car wash appears appears about as far as it’s possible to get from the vicious world of global organised crime.
A glance around the rest of well-to-do Spellbrook of Hertfordshire – with its quaint C of E primary school and thatched local pub – does nothing to dispel the sense of tranquil seclusion.
But to the horror of residents who praised its ‘friendly’ staff and ‘excellent’ service, Spellbrook Hand Car Wash was actually a front for a major drug smuggling ring – with police smashing through its doors to find part of a £4.2million cocaine haul.
The business, which is now under new management, was owned by a relative of Arjan Lisaj, a 33-year-old Albanian.
To locals it appeared entirely legitimate, with online reviews lauding workers for going above and beyond to please customers – including, in one case, handing out free ice lollies to kids.
The bargain prices were another obvious attraction, starting at just £7 to wash the outside of a car.
Yet despite its family friendly appearance, the reality was rather less squeaky clean – with the site serving as a hub of a smuggling operation that imported packages of cocaine in small planes flying over from northern France.
These aircraft would take off from the coastal town of Cherbourg before flying 70 miles over the Channel to Dorset – avoiding radar by flying low and switching off their transponders – before jettisoning the packages over the countryside.
Spellbrook Hand Car Wash was previously a front for a major drug smuggling ring. It is now under new management
The car wash is located in well-to-do Spellbrook of Hertfordshire, which has a quaint C of E primary school and thatched local pub (pictured)
A cyclist passes by the local pub, which is called the Three Horseshoes. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the drugs case
The coordinates of the drop-off locations were agreed in advance, and gang leader Martynas Piecia, 37, or his associate, 47-year-old Lithuanian Rolandas Bauza, would be waiting in a car to pick the packages up.
Rolandas’s brother Tomas Bauza, 44, made up the fourth member of the conspiracy, which organised at least three flights in total.
The four men have now been jailed for a total of more than 47 years following an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), which operates across seven police force areas in the east of England.
Detectives noted the ‘great lengths’ the group went to in order to disguise their criminal activities, and locals were entirely unaware that their friendly local car wash was actually a front for organised crime.
Penny Walmsley, the owner of a dog grooming parlour next door to the site, told MailOnline yesterday that the staff working there had always been ‘really lovely’.
‘I’m on my own here and I’ve had a couple of people who’ve made me feel uncomfortable and they’ve always helped me,’ she said.
‘I knew that the guys I speak to had nothing to do with it because they were all back working here the next day.
‘On the day of the raid, my boyfriend turned up at one point but couldn’t get down the road and the police were even asking him questions about whether he knew anything about what had gone on.
‘I was like: ”What on earth has just happened?’ You don’t get any drama around here!’
Arjan Lisaj, 33, (left) with Martynas Pieca, 37, (right), who is a qualified pilot. This photo was found on Pieca’s phone during the investigation, although none of the offences the gang were charged with relate to flying the planes that were used to drop off drugs
Tomas Bauza, 44, (left) and his 47-year-old brother Ronaldas (right) were also involved in the drug importation operation
The overall haul of cocaine seized by police had an estimated street value of £4.2million
An aerial view of the car wash that was previously used by the gang as a front
The car wash’s friendly, can-do reputation appears to have spread throughout the local area, with one woman telling MailOnline that she ‘only knew about Spellbrook’ because it was located there.
‘My husband and I use it a lot and it was really good,’ she added.
If accounts filed on Companies House are to be believed, the site’s success led to healthy profits, with Spellbrook Car Wash Ltd recording a £40,000 dividend in 2022.
Yesterday, a man who said he had taken over the management of the business on behalf of a friend in Albania claimed he had worked there since 2017 for three different owners but had not known anything about drug dealing.
‘I was very upset when they put this story on the news because it’s nothing to do with us,’ he said. ‘We didn’t know about the cocaine but when they read it in the paper some of the customers think it’s something to with us.’
The man, who asked not to be named, insisted the drugs had been discovered in an office that he did not have access to.
‘The police found two kilos of cocaine in an office but we didn’t know it was there,’ he said. ‘We didn’t know anything about what was going on until the police showed up – we were as surprised as anyone!
‘We’ve never had anything like this happen here and we’re much quieter today because of it. It’s a lovely day, perfect to wash cars, but there’s hardly anyone here.
‘People around here have money, they are posh people, and they don’t want to be associated with that sort of thing.’
Locals praised the car wash for its ‘friendly’, ‘professional’ service in a string of glowing reviews
Photos previously shared on the car wash’s Facebook page revealed a series of supercars being washed in its yard. There is no suggestion they are linked to criminality
A supercar in front of a board giving the cost of the site’s services, starting at £7 to clean the outside of a car
Describing the car wash workers who had been jailed for drug dealing, he said: ‘They were very quiet. They kept themselves to themselves.
‘One had a German electric car and the other an old Passat. They were being clever. They never spoke to the other staff much but were polite. They didn’t show their wealth.’
Officers arrested Lisaj, Martynas Piecia and Rolandas Bauza in September 2024 a short distance away from the car wash. Lisaj is known to have worked there but it is unclear if any of the rest of the gang ever did.
Rolandas, who is listed on Companies House as the former director of a screeding business, was found to be in possession of £31,700 in cash and a phone that he threw into a stream when the officers arrived.
Two 1kg blocks of cocaine were then discovered in an office at the car wash.
Rolandas’s brother Tomas was arrested on the same day at the home the siblings shared in Loughton, Essex.
Two holdalls containing 54kg of cocaine were then found in the loft – bizarrely branded with Audi and Under Armour logos – alongside evidence of cannabis production.
All four men were jailed at St Albans Crown Court on Friday – with Piecia, Rolandas Bauza and Lisaj previously pleading guilty to importing drugs into the UK back in February.
Yesterday, a man who said he had taken over the management of the site on behalf of a friend in Albania claimed he had worked there since 2017 for three different owners but had not known anything about drug dealing
The quiet roads surrounding well-to-do Spellbrook, which due to its size is categorised as a hamlet
Horses graze in the fields near the hamlet, which is near a railway line
Pieca was jailed for 15 years and seven months. Ronaldas Bauza received 14 years and seven months and Lisaj seven years.
Meanwhile, Tomas Bauza was found guilty of supplying controlled drugs following a trial and locked up for 10 years.
Judge HHJ Mann described the operation as a ‘highly sophisticated criminal enterprise’ and identified Piecia as the ringleader.
The court heard footage found on his phone showed him opening a package of cocaine that matched those found at the car wash.
Meanwhile, searches of vehicles associated with the gang members identified an aviation radio and papers with sets of drop-off coordinates.
Sander Simoni and his wife Landa own another business near to Spellbrook Hand Car Wash called IMO Car Wash. The companies are not connected.
Speaking yesterday, Mrs Simoni said they were very anti drugs because their 25-year-old son had been left needing ’round-the-clock care’ after having his drink spiked.
‘It’s good these people got long sentences but they should have been even longer – I don’t think they should ever get out of prison,’ she told MailOnline.
Penny Walmsley, the owner of a dog grooming parlour next door to the car wash, said the staff working there had always been ‘really lovely’ to her
Sander Simoni, who runs a second – entirely unrelated – car wash in the village, said he was pleased the gang had been jailed
Locals in Spellbrook (pictured) described their shock at such a serious crime being associated with their quiet village
Detective Inspector Daniel Barker, from ERSOU, said the gang had been motivated entirely by greed.
‘They went to great lengths to hide their illicit activities, and today’s result follows a huge amount of police work to capture evidence during our investigation,’ he said.
‘ERSOU teams work closely with local police forces and partners both in the UK and abroad to protect our communities from a wide range of criminality, and we will continue to pursue and apprehend those intent on acting illegally in eastern England.’
Police regularly warn of the risk of cash intensive businesses like hand car washes being exploited by drug gangs to launder money or profit from slave labour.
Last year, police busted an Eastern European crime syndicate who smuggled 12 migrants into the UK with the promise of a better life before stealing wages they earned at car washes and other ‘grey economy’ businesses.
One migrant was forced to live in an unheated garage without a roof before being put to work cleaning vehicles for no money, with his captors – who included 47-year-old Czech man Zdenek Drevenak – exploiting his ‘desperation’ not to be deported.
Another case saw a couple force more than 40 Slovakian ‘slaves’ to carry out nearly £1million worth of work for free at their car wash in Southmead, Bristol.
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University estimate there are now about 5,500 hand car washes in the UK, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of car washes overall.
