A fourth man who was a key member of a multi-million pound drugs gang, that ‘flooded’ the streets of the UK with cocaine, is finally behind bars.
Craig Costello, 39, was on the run and fled the country rather than stand trial alongside John ‘Winky’ Watson and Steven Beazley in 2021 - and he was sentenced to nine-years-and-six-months in his absence. The fourth member of the of the global drugs operation, Dave Wright, confessed to the charges before the trial began.
A court previously heard that Costello had fled to Dubai, and police issued a warrant for his arrest in October 2021. Last week he was extradited back to the UK, amid prison rumours that he was caught speeding in Amsterdam.
The dad-of-four has been handed an extra month for his failure to surrender, and is now in HMP Durham starting a nine-year-and-seven-month sentence. Costello’s family, from Teesside, are reportedly happy that he is back in the UK and no longer on the run.
His mum Pauline wrote online, ahead of his court appearance: “Let’s get this over with son and your life starts again love you loads Craigy.”
The gang were sentenced for their part in a sophisticated global drugs ring from September 2015 - October 2016, report Teesside Live. Costello was found to have been, “second in command” on Teesside, despite his barrister telling Judge Howard Crowson that his client was away working on oil rigs during much of 2015, when key drugs transactions from Liverpool to Teesside were observed by covert police officers.
John ‘Winky’ Watson, 42, is serving a six-year sentence. Prison insiders say that the former boxing champion is leading inmates’ exercise classes in the training yard at HMP Holme House, in Stockton. Watson is awaiting transfer to a category D prison, otherwise known as an, “open prison” which allow inmates to work or receive education outside of the prison gates during the day.
Close pal Steven Beazley, 41, is serving his seven-years at Holme House alongside Dave Wright - the leader of the Teesside drugs operation. Wright, 44, was handed eight-years-and-seven-months; he is spending his time attending church services and his barrister, Conor Quinn, said he is determined to turn his life around and find work as an HGV driver on his release.
The sophisticated enterprise saw vast quantities of class A drugs - mainly high purity cocaine - imported into the UK via chartered helicopter flights from continental Europe, including Belgium. The flights would deviate from submitted flight plans and drop off radar in order to make drugs drops near the south coast.
One one occasion 103kg of drugs, 60kg of heroin and 43 kg of cocaine, were recovered from a BMW in Kent. The drugs had a street value of more than £10m and 35 encrypted headsets, often used by drug dealers, were also discovered. Six flights, which contained a combined total of just under 500kgs of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of £17.25m, were linked to Merseyside drugs lord Lance Kennedy.
Kennedy was ultimately snared in an armed military operation in Ukraine. He is serving eighteen-years-and four-months.
Couriers, mainly from the North West, would then deliver drugs to Teesside and meet local connections who would then supply street dealers. Teesside kingpin Jonathon Moorby was also jailed for his role running the North-east operation from his base in Thailand in the huge conspiracy to bring drugs into the UK.
In May of last year, Moorby was extradited from Thailand and jailed for 14 years for his role in the drugs operation earlier this year. The drugs ring even used helicopter drops to bring the narcotics from Europe into the UK. It’s estimated that 500kg of cocaine with a wholesale value of £17.25m were smuggled into the UK.
Back on Teesside and Costello’s family, like that of his pals Winky Watson, Steven Beazley and Dave Wright, have pledged their support for the convicted drug trafficker and will visit him in prison.
The four face the potentially confiscation of their assets as part of prosecutor Stephen McNally’s application for a proceeds of crime investigation.
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