Man on UK’s Most Wanted List Sentenced to 18 Years for £4.5m Drug Operation

A man who featured on the UK’s most wanted list has been handed an 18-year prison sentence for his role in supplying £4.5 million worth of cocaine across the West and South West of England. Alex Male, 32, from Weston-super-Mare, was identified as the individual “supplying the suppliers” with over 130 kilograms of cocaine distributed in Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire. He entered guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine and ketamine, and to money laundering, following his extradition to England from Morocco. Male’s sentencing took place earlier at Exeter Crown Court. Male held a prominent position within a drug gang comprising at least four other men, who were collectively sentenced to 56 years in prison in March. Detective Inspector Adrian Hawkins, who led the investigation, stated: “Alex Male sat at the top of that tree and we believe he was the person in charge.” His initial arrest occurred in 2020 as part of a South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) inquiry into the distribution of class A drugs. However, he absconded after being released on bail. Det Insp Hawkins explained that locating Male required the combined efforts of intelligence and cyber-crime experts, working alongside international police forces and the National Crime Agency, to “follow the breadcrumbs of Male’s life” until he was tracked down. He was ultimately apprehended in Morocco on January 21 of this year, after attempting to enter the country using a fake passport, and was subsequently extradited to England. Det Insp Hawkins remarked: “It’s a massive achievement not only to prove beyond reasonable doubt someone has committed these crimes and that he sat as high up in the tree that he did, but also the efforts to bring him back to the country… to secure the conviction.” During the investigation into Male, authorities were “looking for the person sat at home using an online profile to maximise making money while everyone else took the risk on his behalf,” Det Insp Hawkins added. He commented that “It’s much more difficult to find someone like that.” He continued: “That’s why it’s taken the time it has to present that evidence in a way that can be fully understood by everybody to know exactly what he’d done, what he was responsible for.” Hawkins indicated that Male’s offenses involved high-level drug distribution, reiterating that he was the individual “supplying the suppliers.” He asserted: “Everyone who’s been the victim of a robbery, of a burglary, or even thefts and shoplifting – it all relates to drugs and crimes he was fuelling.” The positive impact of his sentencing is anticipated to be felt across the South West region.