An audacious smuggling gang rented rural holiday homes then chartered helicopters to drop off millions of pounds of drugs from Europe.
The network booked rural retreats on common flight paths in the hope no-one would notice anything unusual about the trips.
They were busted when the arrest of two of their couriers unlocked a chain of evidence that led to one of Britain's biggest cocaine traffickers.
Twelve members of the outfit - including conspiracy mastermind Lance Kennedy - were today jailed for bringing hundreds of kilograms of the Class A drug into the UK.
The 32-year-old, from Birkenhead, built a close knit team that supplied the substance to criminals across England and Scotland from their Wirral base.
He founded that supply network on the importation of huge quantities of cocaine from the European mainland via helicopters.
Kennedy arranged for the helicopters to be loaded with the drug then flown by Dutch pilots across the Channel and into the UK.
The private flights would be booked between Belgium and southern English airports, with Kennedy’s associates responsible for renting secluded properties on those routes.
The helicopter pilots could then drop off their consignments without significantly diverting from their flight paths, disappearing from airport traffic monitors for just a few minutes at a time.
Six flights, which contained a combined total of just under 500kgs of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of £17.25m, were linked to Kennedy.
He was jailed for 18 years and eight months after admitting conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
That sentence followed his extradition from Moldova with pal Robbie Stewart, also from Birkenhead, after the pair were arrested by armed border officials when they attempted to cross a river into Ukraine.
The two were linked to the drugs plot by an operation that started on the streets of the North East and ended with detectives unraveling the international conspiracy.
Cleveland Police launched Operation Spoonbill over concerns about drugs supply in the towns that surround Middlesbrough.
The investigation escalated when two couriers linked to Kennedy were stopped in North Yorkshire after they were monitored in the Newcastle area.
A search of husband and wife team Connor and Alison Fraser-Clark’s vehicle led to the discovery of £210,630.
Sixteen kilograms of high purity cocaine was then found under a bed in a subsequent search of their Wirral home.
The bust opened the door to the gang’s wider movements, with messages between key members mentioning helicopters and meetings in the Kent countryside.
Liaising with the UK’s Air Traffic Control, detectives then matched the time and locations of those meetings with potential suspicious private helicopter flights scheduled overhead, piecing together the elaborate conspiracy and leading to today’s sentences at Liverpool Crown Court.
Faces of the helicopter drugs gang
(All pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs apart from Campbell, Payne and Fraser, who were convicted after trial and Maddocks, who acted as a money launderer).
The kingpin
Lance Kennedy, 32 and of no fixed abode but formerly of Birkenhead.
Led the conspiracy by arranging the importation of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine by helicopter.
He recruited others to work for him and oversaw the distribution of drugs across the UK once they had been imported. Jailed for 18 years and four months.
Courier 1
Robert “Ferry” Stewart, 38 and of no fixed abode, but also formerly of Birkenhead.
Travelled the UK picking up cash and dropping off drugs. Fled while on bail for a second cocaine and cannabis plot in the North East which he was sentenced to three years for in his absence.
A courier for the gang, he met up with Kennedy and was arrested with him on the border of Moldova and Ukraine in February. Jailed for 13 years and eight months.
The financial backer
Paris Newcombe, 46 and of Beverley Road in New Ferry.
Supplied Kennedy with money and rented one of the cottages for a drugs drop off.
He had a close connection to Kennedy and supplied Alison and Connor Fraser-Clark with a van to deliver drugs and pick up cash.
Jailed for 12 years and eight months.
Transport organiser
Jay “Flip-Flop” Robinson, 31 and of Beckwith Street, Birkenhead. Drove a Honda that contained concealed compartments and delivered drugs, predominately to the North East.
Linked to four of the helicopter drops and was said to have directed the ground operation of at least one of them.
Jailed for 14 years.
The "safety guy"
Phillip Smart, 29 and of Somerville Close in Birkenhead.
Had close contact with the gang's couriers and referred to as "the safety guy" because of his concern for the drugs being transported.
Jailed for 14 years and three months.
The minder
Connor Fraser-Clark, 27 and of Hassal Road in Rock Ferry.
Stored drugs and encrypted phones at his home and delivered drugs and picked up cash on behalf of the gang.
Oversaw the movements of his dad John Fraser and was arrested in North Yorkshire with £210,630 in his vehicle.
A later raid on his house led to the discovery of 16kgs of cocaine given a street value of £11m.
Jailed for 11 years and four months.
His heavily pregnant wife
Alison Fraser-Clark, 23 and of Elmswood Road in Tranmere. Arrested alongside husband Connor.
Went on trips for the gang with Connor and, while heavily pregnant with his daughter recruited a friend to take her place.
After giving birth quickly returned to the road on behalf of the gang.
The judge accepted she had a background of mental illness and that she was young when involved and is now remorseful.
Jailed for eight years and eight months.
Courier 2
Matthew Payne, 33 and of Sewell Road in Abbey Wood, London.
Acted as a courier for the gang and whose role was overseen by Kennedy.
His role came to an end when he was stopped with 60kgs of cannabis in his vehicle in a separate conspiracy.
Jailed for 11 years.
The lookout and Stewart's "right hand man"
David Campbell, 66 and of Woodchurch Road in Prenton.
Effectively Stewart’s right-hand man, Campbell travelled the UK with him and acted as his lookout at times.
Jailed for 12 years.
"Trusted courier" and Conor's dad
John Fraser, 60 and of Hassal Road, Rock Ferry.
A trusted courier, he was overseen by his son and daughter-in-law, Connor and Alison Fraser-Clark.
He was involved in the conspiracy for two months.
Jailed for 10 years.
Drugs courier and money collector
Russell Ford, 28 and of Glan Y Gros, Prestatyn.
A drugs courier and money collector.
Police found £70,000 in his car on one stop.
Jailed for seven years and eight months.
Money launderer
Steven Maddocks, 32, of Platt Grove, Rock Ferry.
Jailed for four years for acting as the gang's money launderer.
"This evil trade is unquantifiable"
Following the conclusion of the sentencing, Cleveland Police’s Detective Sergeant John Fitzpatrick, who lead on Operation Spoonbill, said: “This was a complex enquiry and the sentences reflect the scale of the conspiracy which was uncovered by our Organised Crime Unit.
“These individuals took lengthy and complex steps to mask their criminality, which was controlled from abroad.
“The volume of Class A drugs attributable to this group within the conspiracy period is huge and the damage caused locally and nationally by this evil trade is unquantifiable.
“We will now focus our attentions on these individuals to recoup their ill-gotten gains and continue to target their customer-base who peddle in misery.”
