Mansfield Special: Ex-soldier's multi-million pound drugs conspiracy with frozen chickens
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This is a Bassetlaw Today 'special' email newsletter - a story from Mansfield that is too long for addition into our daily newsletters.
The content is from Nottinghamshire Police and tells the story of an ex-bomb disposal soldier who ended up with nearly £4million in his Mansfield home
Enjoy the read and have a great weekend wherever you are reading this.
Justin Doddy, Editor
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A former British Army soldier is among five people sentenced after £3.8 million worth of heroin was found at his Mansfield home.
Samuel Newton led a criminal network that collected and stored vast quantities of drugs for onward supply – with controlled substances imported from abroad hidden in frozen chicken.
His downfall came after he broke down on the M62, with Merseyside Police attending and finding 8kg of cocaine and 5kg of ketamine in the Ford Transit van he was driving.
He failed a roadside drugs test and was transported to custody in Merseyside.
While in custody, officers searched his home address in Bryony Way, Mansfield, and found a colossal amount of heroin (38kg) in his garage, along with £3,315 in bank notes hidden within a wall cupboard.
Together, the cocaine, ketamine and heroin seized from him after his arrest had an estimated street value of up to £4.76 million.
His criminality is a far cry from his days serving on front lines as a bomb disposal soldier, with Nottingham Crown Court hearing he joined the Army aged 16.
Newton became a tradesperson after leaving the Army and turned to drug dealing after a business venture collapsed.
Following his arrest in December 2021, Nottinghamshire Police launched Operation Affinity to uncover the full extent of the drugs operation Newton was involved in.
Text messages discovered by detectives suggested Newton, now aged 41, frequently took possession of the drugs and sometimes disposed of the meat himself.
Further investigation work revealed members of the criminal gang travelled around in hire vans large enough to carry substantial quantities of drugs, with multiple journeys made to places such as Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Leeds, Newcastle, London and Southend.
Banking documents showed vast amounts of money were also transferred between members of the drugs gang throughout the conspiracy, with bogus references such as “Grandad loan” designed to mask the criminal operation. Newton also used a fake name when checking into hotels in an unsuccessful effort to conceal his whereabouts.
Newton became the first person to be sentenced for his role in the conspiracy when he was jailed for 14 years at Nottingham Crown Court on 5 March. He had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs, as well as conspiracy to possess criminal property.
Yesterday (5 November) at the same court, four co-defendants were sentenced after Nottinghamshire Police detectives identified over 369 trips conducted throughout the UK, which were indicative of drug and cash runs by the group.
The investigation found at least 184 of these journeys would have been drug runs, which was calculated at 1,472kg of drugs transported around the country. Drug experts calculated the street value of these drugs would be as high as up to £147 million.
Among those sentenced yesterday (5 November) were:
- Abi Holbrook, 32, of Samuel Unwins Court, Sutton-in-Ashfield
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
Newton's partner who deposited large sums of cash into their bank account, paid for hire vans used to transport drugs, paid drug couriers petrol money and spent money on lavish designer clothes, handbags and holidays.
Jailed for two-and-a-half years, suspended for three years.
- Gavin Holbrook, 57, of Birkland Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs of class A and B.
Abi's father who assisted Newton in counting cash/stock taking and couriering drugs and cash throughout the country. Disposed of chicken products that concealed the drugs and stored drugs at his address.
Jailed for five years.
- Amiel King, 30, of Bearwood Road, Smethwick, Sandwell
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs of class A and B, namely diamorphine, cocaine and ketamine.
Also an Army veteran and was a student and doorman at the time of the conspiracy. He was also heavily involved in the supply of large quantities of Class A drugs and cash throughout the country and helped to store and stock-take drugs stored at his home address.
Jailed for five years and one month.
- George Marshman, 33, of The Fairways, Clifton, Ashbourne
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs of class A and B, namely diamorphine, cocaine and ketamine.
A friend of Newton's who was initially recruited to assist Newton in fitting hides in vans for criminal gangs to conceal drugs and cash for onward supply. Marshman began to store large quantities of drugs at his home address, and supply multi-kilos of class A drugs throughout the country.
Jailed for five years and 11 months.
How detectives solved the case
The evidence that underpins Operation Affinity and forms the foundation for the conspiracy was found on a phone seized by Nottinghamshire Police when officers raided his address in Bryony Way, Mansfield.
Messaging extracted from the device revealed a large-scale drugs operation was being conducted in Nottinghamshire from the address and a second hub in Bracebridge Drive, Bilbrough.
The drugs enterprise was well-organised with Newton coordinating the collection and distribution of bulk controlled drugs and cash around England throughout 2021.
Detectives found he had direct communication to importers and were among the first contacts for controlled substances entering the illegal UK drugs market.
The criminal enterprise is believed to have had a number of strands to its operation, those being the collection and storage of large-scale drugs for onward supply, the supply of wholesale drugs nationwide to different criminal gangs and the collection and delivery of cash from drug supply.
Referred to as Blondie360 in encrypted messaging, Newton’s bank account in 2020 suggested he worked in the building trade and received a regular monthly income.
Towards the end of 2020, Newton’s regular source of income ceased after he attempted to start his own business.
The business he tried to form did not come to fruition and messages sent by Newton spoke of him being “defrauded” out of millions of pounds worth of construction contracts – although detectives found no evidence of this claim.
Newton began to use his trade craft experience to build hides in the back of vans to conceal drugs and cash for criminal gangs.
Messages show he then started to conduct cash runs, collecting and depositing large quantities of cash estimated in the region of £64,000 at a time from drug supply before moving into bulk drug supply nationwide.
Newton rose in seniority and messages seen by detectives revealed he had direct contact with importers and spent less time “on the road" running the drugs and began to co-ordinate the importation of drugs from abroad as well as running a team of drug couriers – Gavin Holbrook, King and Marshman – to deliver drugs nationwide.
Newton then started to coordinate the supply of drugs to the UK and directed others to collect for onward supply.
The court heard he profited from his illegal enterprise and purchased a Porsche Panamera for cash in 2021, plus a bus, motorbike, boat and three vans. He also bought a cash counter from Amazon and designer clothing and spoke of buying a house for £140k for a few weeks' work.
At Newton's sentencing hearing, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC said the amounts of drugs Newton dealt with were ‘eye watering’.
“You had served your country honourably and at great risk to your own health, both mental and physical,” the judge told Newton.
“That does not mean, of course, that you were entitled to commit crime as a result of that.
“You become involved in an enterprise which was professionally run and involved the importation of drugs in bulk quantities and high purity into this country.”
Yesterday's additional sentencings brough the case to a conclusion.
Detective Inspector Ian Smith, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime unit, said:
“In this case, we unearthed a treasure trove of damning evidence that has ultimately led to the collapse of a wide criminal network.
“Criminals like Newton bring misery to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities in order to line their own pockets.
“He and others convicted in this case believed they were untouchable but did not count on the determination and skill of officers and detectives to crack this case.
“We welcome these sentencings and I would like to pay tribute to everybody who helped to bring these defendants to justice, including the dedicated detectives within our Serious and Organised Crime team and the Intelligence department, as well as our colleagues at the Crown Prosecution Service.”
Content courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police
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Justin Doddy, Editor
Bassetlaw Today
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