Six people from Kent have been jailed for their role in a family-run crime group – headed up by a 65-year-old ‘gangster granny’ who lived a lavish lifestyle including splashing out £400 on a designer Gucci collar for her cat.
The gang of six women, one man and ringleader Deborah Mason – known as ‘Queen Bee’ – were sentenced this week at Woolwich Crown Court for supplying nearly a tonne of cocaine – with a street value of more than £80 million – over a seven-month period.
Combined, they received prison time of 106 years and six months. An additional woman will be sentenced at a later date.
Police discovered that the group of couriers collected packages of imported cocaine and drove them all over London and the UK to locations as far as Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff between April and November 2023.
It is estimated each individual earned more than £1,000 a day.
Deborah Mason, 65, of Crayford Road, Tufnell Park, north London, was described as “playing the leading role in the prolific criminal enterprise”.
She was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in April and was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on Friday.
Robert Hutchinson, specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “This was no ordinary family. Instead of nurturing and caring for her relatives, Deborah Mason recruited them to establish an extraordinarily profitable criminal enterprise that would ultimately put them all behind bars.
“The CPS worked closely with the police from the earliest opportunity to make sure we had ample evidence to prosecute them for the full extent of their actions.
“We reviewed thousands of messages and other digital evidence that not only revealed incriminating messages sent between them, but also a significant pattern of deleting messages, helping to prove that they all knew exactly what they were doing.”
Met Detective Constable Jack Kraushaar, who led the investigation, said: “This was a sophisticated operation which was extremely profitable for those involved.
“The group were sucked into criminality, selfishly attracted by the financial benefits of the drug-dealing to fund lavish lifestyles. They were unaware we were coming for them and this sentencing should act as a deterrent to those who think about committing this type of crime.”
Acting on intelligence, Met officers used a wide range of investigative techniques including extensive call data and conventional surveillance to track Mason and her courier’s movements.
It included tracking her car to the port of Harwich to collect a shipment of cocaine, followed by a number of trips by the grandmother and gang members to make various drop-offs and collections during the seven-month period.
The group used encrypted messaging site Signal to communicate. Officers trawled through thousands of messages following their arrests which further proved their criminal movements.
The messages also showed that Mason was living an extravagant lifestyle with her profits, having bought a Gucci collar and lead worth £400 for her cat as well as luxury outdoor garden items. The group booked various holidays and purchased luxury goods with their earnings.
A number of hire cars and hotels were expensed as part of their spending.
Following an 11-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Roseanne Mason, from London, Chloe Hodgkin, 23, of Abbots Walk, Wye; Lillie Bright, 26, of Evergreen Way, Ashford; Demi Bright, 30, of Samuel Peto Way, Ashford; and Anita Slaughter, 44, of Pearmain Way, Ashford, were all found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Prior to her trial, Lillie Bright pleaded guilty to a separate offence of offering to supply Class A drugs, identified following a review of her mobile device.
Tina Golding, 66, of Beecholme Drive, Ashford; Reggie Bright, 24, of Frittenden Road, Staplehurst and Demi Kendall, 31, also of Frittenden Road, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs prior to trial.
Demi Kendall and Reggie Bright also pleaded guilty to a separate offence of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property following seizures of cocaine and more than £15,000 cash during a search of their home address.
Roseanne Mason, 29, of Canonbury in London was jailed for 11 years as was Demi Bright.
Lillie Bright received 13 years; Reggie Bright 15 years and Demi Kendall 13 years and six months.
Tina Golding was jailed for 10 years, Anita Slaughter to 13 years while Chloe Hodgkin will be sentenced at a later date.
