’Thor’ and his gang smuggled £140m of cocaine into the UK from Sierra Leone
Members of the organised crime group have been locked up for a combined total of more than 75 years
A gang led by a drug importer known as "Thor" attempted to smuggle £140m of cocaine into the UK from Sierra Leone. The huge stash of illicit class A substances was hidden inside a shipment of flour which was transported from West Africa by boat before its seizure at the border.
Members of the Merseyside-based organised crime group behind the plot were today locked up for a combined total of more than 75 years. They included a pensioner who was sentence to decades behind bars on his 70th birthday.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday that the National Crime Agency launched Operation Lemonlike after 1.3 tonnes of cocaine, worth £36m at wholesale level but with a street value of as much as £140m, was seized at the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk. The 1,306kg of class A drugs had been concealed with a shipment of 20kg sacks of garri flour which had arrived from the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown on June 8 2022 and was bound for an industrial unit at Bradley Hall Trading Estate in Standish, Wigan, via a stop in Morocco.
Martin Reid KC, prosecuting, described Darren Schofield, of St Philip’s Avenue in Litherland, as a "a leading member of a Merseyside-based crime group" and "responsible for the overall coordination of the importation", which was foiled when the huge consignment was intercepted by the UK Border Force. The 45-year-old, who has no previous convictions, was nicknamed "Thor" by his fellow gang members, apparently owing to his long, flowing locks.
Stephen Martland, of Lakeland Gardens in Chorley, arranged for the rental of the premises where the drugs were to be delivered and was also involved in sourcing chemicals which would enable the illicit substances to be cut in order to boost profits. Paul Mockett, of Stump Lane in Chorley, set up a registered company, BH Supplies Ltd, to facilitate the purchase of these adulterants.
The investigation also led to Neil Maguire, of Georgia Close in Bootle, being identified as the user of the handle "Holy Book" on encrypted communications platform EncroChat. He was involved in trading 8.5kg of cocaine, worth around £300,000, via the network alongside contacts such as "Mister Gratitude", "Cherry Vape", "Frosty Mallet", "Good Vibes.com" and "Stringfella" - which was said to have been Schofield’s account.
Surveillance meanwhile showed that both the 45-year-old and Paul O’Shea, of Edge Lane in Crosby, were involved in several handovers of cocaine. Darren Jones, of Fountains Close in Kirkdale, was found in possession of around a kilogram of a cutting agent when arrested alongside Schofield during the NCA operation, while Darren Wetton, of Ashby Street in Chorley, confessed to having couriered quantities of cannabis to Coventry and Glasgow.
Damian Nolan, defending Schofield, told the court: "There are inevitably people who are unidentified in this importation. Mr Schofield is a constant presence in the arrangements.
"Very often, those who are the true organisers, the financiers et cetera, often remain in the shadows. He was not in the shadows here. He is playing an active, hands-on part. He may not be at the absolute pinnacle of this operation.
"He has made a tremendous error of judgement. He is going to receive an extremely condign sentence as a result of that. That lies heavy with him. His remorse is genuine. There is another side to Darren Schofield. I ask the court to accept that there is a positive side to his character. He has young children."
Martland meanwhile appeared in court on the day he turned 70. His counsel Ian Whitehurst said: "The defendant has no previous drug trafficking offences. He only has one old motoring offence. He is 70 years of age today. His health has not been good over the years.
"I ask the court to consider the impact of a substantial prison sentence on a man of his age and health and the impact on his immediate family, who have lodged very positive character testimonials on his behalf which present a more rounded and fuller picture of the defendant. While in prison, he has engaged positively and become a model prison."
Martin Scott, appearing for Mockett, stated that his client had shown "genuine remorse and regret" and added: "Of course, Mr Mockett was motivated by financial advantage. While he may have not played a management function, clearly he played an operational function within this chain.
"Mr Mockett is now aged 50 and he has a very limited antecedent record, primarily for driving offences and criminal damage. There are two matters of possession of drugs from over 25 years ago.
"He knows full well that the three people he cares about most, his wife and two children, are the people he has let down the most. This is his first time in custody. Despite his own mental and physical health problems, he has adopted a positive attitude while on remand."
Michael Lavery said on 56-year-old Wetton’s behalf: "He was asked by a friend to become involved in making deliveries of cannabis. He did a courier’s role over a weekend and then allowed a delivery from his house. He was involved for a short period under direction. He had no influence on those above him at all, and his advantage would be funding his own habit.
"He is a qualified HGV licence holder and a fully qualified mechanic. His explanation for becoming involved is that it was at a time when his marriage began breaking down, a marriage which began when he was aged 18 in 1986.
"There is a good prospect of rehabilitation for him. I ask your honour to consider as short a sentence as possible and whether such a sentence could be suspended in his case, given his involvement within the offending."
Julian Nutter meanwhile appeared on behalf of both 56-year-old Jones and 46-year-old O’Shea. He said of the latter: "He is clearly involved in a chain of delivery, but he was also exploited by others above him following the collapse of his partner’s business. He is a essentially a courier/stock man. He was not a stakeholder in the operation and he was used and directed by others up the chain.
"He has been hard working all of his life since he was 16, working six days a week as a mechanic - apparently a very skilled one. To say that there is another side to him is an understatement. He has children, a boy aged 14.
"What a mess he has made. He is going to pay a price, but it should not be too high a price because he is not in the same league as the others who exploited him."
Turning to Jones, Mr Nutter added: "He is doing everything he can in custody to restore himself. This is not an individual who will be troubling the courts again, any more than Mr O’Shea will. This is an individual who has been sucked into the vortex. He does not want to be in that place again."
David Birrell finally said of Maguire: "He does have convictions but he is relatively lightly convicted, with some five convictions. Three of those are very minor. While he does have convictions for drugs, it is really not on this level. It is for cannabis production and supply. There has been no offending since 2014, save for some driving offences in 2019.
"I know your honour will take into account the impact that this will have on his family. There are four children in the family. His partner speaks highly of him as a father. She talks about charitable work he did prior to his arrest. There is another side to him. That is borne out by the references. He is described as a selfless man.
"He is remorseful. He is making the most, or at least trying to make the most, of his time in prison. It is fair to say he is trying his best to rehabilitate himself so that he can try his level best on release. When he is released, there is a job available for him."
Schofield admitted conspiracy to import cocaine. Appearing via video link to HMP Manchester, he was jailed for 20 years - reduced from 30 years for his guilty plea.
Martland was convicted of the same offence after trial, while Mockett pleaded guilty to the charge. Appearing remotely from HMP Liverpool and HMP Preston, they were imprisoned for 21 and 13-and-a-half years respectively.
Maguire admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine and was handed 11 years and four months. O’Shea pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was given six years.
Jones, also appearing on the link from Walton prison, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years. Wetton pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and received a 12-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months.
Sentencing, Judge Brian Cummings KC said: "Nearly all of you have no previous convictions at all or none which are relevant or recent. Likewise, all of you have presented personal mitigation which, in a number of cases, is supported by personal testimonials.
"I take into account all of these matters to the greatest extent that I can but it has to be said that there is a limit to the effect that can have in this kind of case, a case involving serious organised crime. The courts must have regard to the effect of drug trafficking on the wider population.
"A great deal of criminal offences are directly or indirectly related to drug trafficking - whether the trafficking itself, violence, persons under the influence of drugs or offences committed by addicts in order to fund their habits. All of that has terrible consequences, wrecks lives and destroys families.
"Most or all of you are capable men about whom much better things can be said. Many of you are family men with young children who will suffer from your absence.
"The responsibly for all of this is yours. You have chosen to involve yourselves in very serious crime knowing that severe consequences would follow should you be caught."
Neil Foley, 46, of Kingsway Avenue, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire, was acquitted of conspiring to supply cocaine and conspiracy in relation to the 1.3 tonnes.
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