A courier acted as a ‘buffer’ between drug dealers and customers in a slick operation which saw hundreds of kilos of cocaine imported into the UK. Craig Simpson was tracked by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) collecting crates containing the class A drug before driving it up to Manchester Airport.
On five occasions throughout 2017, it was found that up to 40 kilos of cocaine was concealed within each crate. However, when officers infiltrated the operation, Simpson, 47, was nowhere to be seen - and remained unlawfully at large for four years.
In October 2021 he was arrested in Marbella and extradited back to the UK. Following a trial, he was found guilty of knowingly encouraging or assisting in the commission of a crime. Jurors found that he did not know the crates contained cocaine, and he was not convicted of smuggling the drug.
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Prosecuting, Roger Brown told Minshull Street Crown Court that the crates were imported into the UK from Holland, to a shipping company. These crates were picked up at the airport by a courier company, and brought up to Manchester.
He said Simpson was in a ‘position of trust and responsibility’, and said the crates were being moved to the wholesalers for distribution.
“These crates were coming in at least once a week for six months,” the prosecutor said.
Mr Brown said Simpson had the tracking information for the crates and was able to collect them from the airport, often driving to Manchester from Middlesbrough. One of the crates was stopped by officials on June 15 2017, but Simpson did not turn up to collect it.
“The defendant fled the country and never returned to the UK voluntarily. He was extradited back to the UK in 2021,” he said.
“The defendant’s explanation for why he did not return to the country is because he couldn’t get a passport as his had expired.”
Judge Bernadette Baxter said this was ‘nonsense’.
Simpson was said to have a ‘bad record’ including previous convictions for drug offences, driving offences and dishonesty offences.
Mitigating, David Taylor said his client was in a trusted position but didn’t know that cocaine was in the crates, and suggested he had a lower level of culpability. Judge Baxter disagreed and said Simpson played a pivotal role.
“He essentially kept two sides of the criminal operation apart, otherwise they would be cutting each other’s throats,” Judge Baxter said.
Mr Taylor continued, saying that his client was handed the crates by a colleague.
“He is not naive, it is likely he didn’t know he was carrying it, he turned a blind eye,” he said.
“There will be no Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) proceedings, which reinforces that the defendant is of medium means and the benefits from this criminality have either dissipated or were modest. The jury were not sure if he knew it was cocaine.”
“The NCA were suspicious this operation was ongoing and began their investigations," Judge Baxter said while sentencing.
“Your role was important and a trusted role. You acted as the buffer between those above you who were involved in vast quantities of cocaine, and the customers. You kept the two separate so the customer didn’t know how or where the drugs were coming into the country.
“I have no doubt you know this was a sophisticated and valuable smuggling operation, but I am loyal to the jury’s finding that you didn’t know it was cocaine.”
She said his mitigation was ‘precious little’, his previous convictions aggravated the sentence, as did the fact he was unlawfully at large for four years, and it involved actual cocaine.”
Simpson, of Cranworth Green, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees was jailed for eight years.
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