Gang Members Imprisoned for £140 Million Cocaine Importation Scheme Using Bogus Business

Individuals associated with a criminal organization have been sentenced to jail for their involvement in a plot to smuggle £140 million worth of cocaine into the United Kingdom. The operation utilized a fictitious company that purported to manage returned merchandise from retailers such as Amazon and Argos. Darryn Schofield, 45, identified as the leader of a Merseyside-based gang, established the fraudulent enterprise alongside Stephen Martland, 70, and Paul Mockett, 50. According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), the purpose of this illicit company was to conceal the drug importation activities. Schofield, residing in Liverpool, and Mockett, from Chorley, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine. Martland, also a resident of Chorley, was found guilty following a trial concerning the 1.3-tonne importation plan. Schofield received a 20-year sentence at Liverpool Crown Court. Mockett was handed a 13-year sentence, and Martland was given a 21-year prison term. The NCA reported that the narcotics were intended for delivery from Africa to an industrial facility in Wigan. However, Border Force officers intercepted them at a Suffolk port in August 2022. The criminal group had leased the unit, stating its intended use was “for the storage of house clearance items plus pallets of returned goods from Amazon, Argos and other relevant retailers that need to sell their returns”. The agency further stated that the three individuals were apprehended in November 2023, following a “painstaking investigation.” During the course of this inquiry, NCA officers discovered that Schofield, whose address was St Phillips Avenue, Liverpool, possessed an additional property utilized to “adulterate and mix drugs.” Additionally, Mockett, residing at Stump Lane, Chorley, Lancashire, had established a separate fraudulent company. This entity was employed to acquire chemicals “for the adulteration of cocaine.” Jon Sayers, an NCA branch commander, commented: “Illegal drugs supply has horrific consequences as we have tragically seen in recent years with entirely innocent members of the public hurt and killed in the crossfire of feuding gangs.” He further affirmed, “We will continue to do everything we can with policing partners and Border Force to prevent illegal drugs supply.”