A drugs kingpin operating known as the "Urban Flamingo" is at the centre of an international manhunt after detectives smashed a £30million smuggling ring, the Mirror can reveal. The shadowy underworld figure is believed to be the head of a major crime organisation bringing drugs to the UK through Spain and France. It follows a National Crime Agency sting in 2019 during which dogs sniffed out £10m worth of cocaine at the port of Newhaven, East Sussex in 2019. Four men were jailed last week for a total of nearly 60 years for their part in the plot after cops cracked their phones. But today it can be revealed that cops intercepted encrypted phone chats between Urban Flamingo and a smuggler calling himself Bestrocket. Chat messages revealed a £30m plot to bring cocaine from Spain across the Channel in golf bags and hidden in consignments of fish, duck and foie gras. Michael Keating, 56, his brother Matthew Keating, 49, Jean-Pierre Labelle, 48, and Tanvir Hussain, 46, were rumbled and cops discovered another two similar sized shipments. A court heard the top crime boss based in Spain called himself Urban Flamingo in encrypted chats with the gang. National Crime Agency detectives believe he was running the operation from the Mediterranean. All conversations with Urban Flmanigo were in English and the intended destination for the drugs was Liverpool. A judge jailed the four men at Lewes Crown Court in Hove for a total of 58-and-a-half years. The court heard they ran a sophisticated, well organised and determined criminal enterprise. They used fake and legitimate businesses importing fish and oysters from Europe through the port of Newhaven in East Sussex. The gang took Eurostar trains to southern France and Spain to meet contacts while their drivers brought vans to pick up shipments of drugs. Prosecutor Amy Packham described the operation as a professionally planned conspiracy to import controlled drugs into the United Kingdom from Europe. She said: "Under the guise of importing fish and oysters from the continent with trips to Spain, France and Jersey they were actually importing millions of pounds worth of cocaine." Grandfather Michael Keating, of Uxbridge, Middlesex, ran the gang and dealt directly with Urban Flamingo and another deputy to organise bringing the cocaine from Spain, through France and into the UK. Career criminal Keating, who called himself Bestrocket on the chat. has convictions going back to the 1980s. In 2013 a French court convicted him of importing Golf bags stuffed with cocaine into Brighton. Her Honour Judge Christine Henson KC said he had long established connections in the drug world and refused to name those above him in the organisation. He said: "I'm not sentencing the overall mastermind behind this entire conspiracy. While I accept there are others above, you were towards the top performing a leading role." He was jailed for 24 years for importing cocaine. He was also given nine years to be served concurrently for importing ketamine and another 34 month concurrent. His brother Matthew Keating, of Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, admitted smuggling 80kg of ketamine into the UK and was jailed for seven years and six months. Jean-Pierre Labelle was described as a trusted member of the group who was in charge of sourcing vehicles and recruiting drivers. He was trusted with the drugs and cash. Labelle from Isle of Wight, who was convicted of people trafficking while on bail for the drugs conspiracy, was jailed for 17 years. Tanvir Hussain, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was described as a family man with two jobs who saw an opportunity to make easy money. He was recruited by old school friend Labelle to drive for the gang. He was jailed for ten years. The drugs conspiracy started to unravel when a refrigerated van with 97kg of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment under a fake cargo of fish was stopped at Newhaven, East Sussex in November 2019. The driver was bailed when covid lockdown hit. Cops linked him to the gang when they started to discuss his case on their encrypted phones. The gang were concerned he was giving evidence about their operations to the police and if he could identify Urban Flamingo. His Honour Judge Henson said: "The conspiracy to import both Class A and B drugs was well organised with sophisticated planning and established connections within the international drugs network at least from the Keating brothers. This was a sophisticated, well organised and determined criminal enterprise." Mark Ruff, NCA Senior Officer, said: “This result demonstrates the determination of NCA officers to bring to justice all those involved in the importation of illegal drugs – whether they sort the logistics, knowingly transport the substances, or benefit financially from the trade. “In this case we proved the offenders’ links and completely dismantled a crime group. The class A drugs trade fuels violence and misery at every step of its way to the UK. We will continue to work alongside partners at home and abroad to right the threat of Class A drugs."