A woman who was a "promising engineer" with a taste for the finer things has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years after her long-running cannabis and cocaine empire came crashing down. Danielle Stafford made so much money that she bought a second house and didn't need to touch her salary.
Her operation funded a lifestyle of holidays and expensive treats. When the law caught up with her, she tried to convince a court that she was the victim of a shadowy Liverpool drug dealer, but she could provide no evidence.
Instead, Hull Crown Court heard that she had also started to deal heroin as her illicit work expanded. The court was told that she had a long-running "additional cash income stream" but tried to portray that most of the expensive items that were found were not designer but were fake or had merely been given to her by family members from their foreign holidays, reports HullLive.
It was chance that she was caught - it began when police found her speeding. A phone constantly rang with 30 calls or pinged with up to 20 drug messages after she was arrested and police later found £26,917 cash stashed around her home and drugs with a street value of £33,600.
She had luxuries including nine watches and three expensive Louis Vuitton handbags. Stafford, 29, of Hallgate, Cottingham, admitted three offences of being concerned in supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis and another of possessing cash as criminal property, on dates spanning October 2017 and May 2020. She originally denied nine offences and a trial had started, with the prosecution opening its case, but she suddenly changed her pleas to guilty on four charges.
Judge Mark Bury told Stafford: "You are well educated. You are a promising engineer. Your life went out of control some time in 2017 when you started dealing cannabis."
Stafford claimed that she had no direct involvement in street dealing cocaine and heroin and that a "lad" from Liverpool was the prime mover. "I don't accept that," said Judge Bury.
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There was plenty of evidence that she was a significant cannabis dealer for two-and-a-half years, but progressed to dealing cocaine too. "You were a street dealer in cocaine," said Judge Bury.
"You had a significant amount of designer and expensive items and jewellery," said Judge Bury. "I am not prepared to accept that it was fake. It shows that you were able to earn very good money from this operation."
Stafford had a good car. "It wasn't exactly a banger that you were using," said Judge Bury. "There was an expectation of significant financial reward, as demonstrated by the items at your home. You have some talent and it's a great shame that you didn't deploy that talent in a more law-abiding way because I am sure you have something to offer.
"You didn't plead guilty until the very last minute. The evidence was strong, if not overwhelming. The jury was sworn (in) and only during the opening did you change your pleas.
"Drug dealing on this scale, with this degree of financial reward that you you have reaped, simply cannot be overlooked. You have got more to offer than this and you have got to show that when you have served this sentence."
Stafford looked impassive as she was led out of the dock to be taken down to the cells, but she mouthed a few words to three supporters in the public gallery.
Saleema Mahmood, mitigating, said that Stafford was street dealing cannabis and regularly and frequently took part in this. She claimed that her involvement in Class A dealing arose through a person from Liverpool.
Evidence of any Class A dealing was extremely limited and came from two sets of messages. This came much later than the cannabis enterprise. There was an element of naivety and exploitation in her involvement and she had little influence on those above her in the chain.
Stafford claimed that she had only the "odd piece" of designer item and that so-called expensive watches and other items bought were counterfeit or had been bought as presents for her by her family on holidays to places like Turkey and Spain. She also claimed that the family was in the habit of keeping large amounts of cash at home, rather than in a bank, and that she was entrusted to look after them for family members because she was seen as being a "responsible" person who could be "trusted" with money.
There were references from previous employers and others. She had tried to get work and had done voluntary work. She had shown remorse for what she had done.
Nadim Bashir, prosecuting, said that police spotted a silver Audi heading along Priory Road towards Hull city centre at 7.30pm on May 12, 2020. It was speeding and hastily turned onto Hotham Road South, cutting the corner and cutting up a vehicle heading in the opposite direction.
"It was then driven at speed along Hotham Road South," said Mr Bashir.
The car was followed and it was stopped in The Odd Bottle car park on Wold Road. Police could smell cannabis coming from the inside of the car and this aroused their suspicions.
She "immediately lied" and told police: "I'll be honest, I've got this" and handed police a small silver wrap containing two buds of cannabis skunk. Police found further bags of cannabis on her, including a food bag containing cannabis skunk and, from a pocket, another food bag containing cannabis skunk.
The car was searched and a carrier bag of cannabis skunk was found behind the driver's seat. An empty tub containing drug residue was found. The total value of the cannabis was £1,308. An iPhone was found, with drug messages on it.
"From the moment of seizure of the drugs to the arrival in the police station custody suite, the mobile iPhone was constantly ringing and receiving messages from different people," said Mr Bashir. "Some 30 phone calls were received and 10 to 20 text messages."
On the way to the police station, Stafford was seen "fidgeting" with her jogging bottoms and she was asked if she had any more drugs hidden.
She said: "Yes, but it's not mine and I don't know what it is. I shoved it down my joggers when you pulled me." Stafford pulled out a bag containing a large amount of small bags of cocaine. There were 56 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £2,800.
Her three-bedroom home in Cottingham was searched after police forced entry. A glass jar with plastic bags inside was found hidden behind a bag of coal bricks in a coal bunker in the rear garden. There were 270 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £13,500, and 205 wraps of heroin, valued at £4,100, in the jar. Stafford denied knowledge of them.
In the living room, herbal cannabis, valued at £2,500, was found in an open, empty banana box on a table. She denied that it belonged to her. Two glass jars contained cannabis valued at £370. Police also found weighing scales, a large amount of cash and more food bags. She admitted that this belonged to her.
In Stafford's bedroom, £430 cash and £25.36 in coins were found. Herbal cannabis and Ecstasy tablets were found. Bank notes totalling £670 were found as well as £2,350 and £1,480 cash.
More cash, totalling £7,580, was found in a safe but she denied that it was hers. Three Louis Vuitton handbags and nine watches were found. She admitted that these were hers.
In an upstairs box room, cash bundles of £9,100, £1,668, £550, £700, £1,110, £165, £190 and £91 were found. Examination of Stafford's bank accounts revealed that "she clearly had an additional stream of cash income" apart from her monthly wages from working for Swift Group.
Holidays had been taken but there was no trace from her bank account of her buying foreign currency or making purchases overseas. "Again, evidence of an additional cash stream income," said Mr Bashir.
Stafford had bought her Cottingham home in March 2016 for £124,999 in her sole name with a mortgage and a property in Hotham Road South in July 2018 without a mortgage for £68,500 in equal shares with her aunt. Stafford paid the "lion's share" of £64,927 from cashing in premium bonds and she told police that she bought it to rent out.
"Even with rental or lodgings allowances, neither property was able to provide any significant source of income to justify the cash found in the house," said Mr Bashir.
During police interview, Stafford claimed that a Liverpool lad had been staying with her on and off and that he had telephoned her to say that he had left something at her home. When she got home, there was a large amount of cannabis and, when he asked her to take it to him, she said that she did not feel comfortable doing so.
She claimed that he asked her just to bring a bag which was there and, in a panic, she grabbed a bag and was driving to meet him. Stafford denied that she or the lad were dealing drugs but later admitted that she would drive to Liverpool and bring him back to Hull.
She denied knowledge of any of the large amounts of cash found around her home, claiming that she looked after it for the lad, including keeping it for him in her own bedroom, apart from £2,350 which belonged to her.
"She said that the money in the safe had nothing to do with her and all the other cash belonged to the lad," said Mr Bashir.
He told the court that Stafford was an "enthusiastic" cannabis dealer and progressed to becoming a Class A cocaine dealer.
"She had somehow managed to avoid her drug dealing activities coming to the attention of the police for a substantial period of time," said Mr Bashir.
"The natural result of this was that she was able to accumulate a substantial amount of wealth, including purchasing an investment property, a house to rent. Cash found in her home address amounted to £26,917.
"The contents of her home address in Hallgate, Cottingham, is strong evidence of the nature of her drugs business. The amount, type and value of drugs found at her home were substantial. The drugs alone were street valued at £33,600. This is sustained drug dealing."
