Meth by mail: drug dealing on an international scale between UK, Holland, Australia, and New Zealand
Main article content
Drugs concealed in the linings of books and hidden in board games, legitimate businesses used for their mailing addresses, and brazen posting of methamphetamine and cocaine to Australia and New Zealand using Royal Mail – this is just a taste of a prolific drugs conspiracy rooted in the city of Lincoln.
Officers became aware of the dealing in April 2020 after phone data from another investigation showed a link between suspected drug dealers.
It quickly became clear that this was a drug dealing operation on an international scale.
Officers leading the investigation were able to use intelligence from border agencies, parcel tracking data, and some of the actual parcels being shipped through Royal Mail with the help of the organisation’s security team to establish that the methamphetamine and cocaine was brought into the UK by being concealed in the linings of books, or hidden in board games.
These were then packaged with extra games and books by the Lincoln-based suppliers, and the labels changed before they were boxed for shipping via post offices in Lincoln.
Almost all of these parcels contained a kilo of cocaine or meth, and were being imported from Holland before being shipped via Royal Mail to dealers in New Zealand and Australia. Forensic examinations of parcels intercepted by police and security forces found that the parcels were shipped along with other games and books which did not contain drugs to limit the risk that they would be uncovered.
Part of the evidence used to convict those responsible was the scale of the operation. The team were able to confirm that between 23 January 2019 and 11 May 2021, there were 43 packages imported and shipped out.
Each package was worth £40,000 wholesale.
Once shipped out of the UK, the street value rocketed to almost £200K each.
Investigations led them to the top of the tree of the operation, a man named Patrick Lawless, 43, from the Lincoln area, who was dealing as a wholesale supplier, purchasing kilos of drugs from Holland via an encrypted phone – or ‘encro’ – phone.
Cyber specialists used evidence from encro devices, where they learned that he spoke to other international drug dealers about the commercial supply of class A drugs. They also tracked online shopping purchases, and found he’d purchased foam packing peanuts, packing boxes, and vacuum bags from Amazon which he used in his supply chain.
The evidence proved a key component to the case, proving that he made the deals with Leeds-based Soyeb Vesmawala, 50, via an encrypted phone to import the drugs and used bitcoin to pay and hide profits. Vesmawala brokered the deals.
After identifying Lawless, they needed to work out who else was part of the conspiracy, and attention was turned to Lincoln-based Arthur Dunn, 59. After examining passports, travel documents, and other financial records, they were able to prove that he had travelled to Amsterdam with Lawless, acting as his second in command, and also assisting in the collection and movements of parcels within Lincolnshire.
As the investigation progressed, attention turned to working out how the parcels were being handled and moved on from Lincoln once arriving in the UK.
The team examined data which showed who lived at certain address to determine that the drugs were being delivered to addresses around Lincoln using fake names, or addressed to people who used to live at those properties. They would be intercepted or collected by the offenders claiming a mistaken delivery, and then repackaged by other members of gang for either onward supply in Lincolnshire in vacuum-packed bags with foam packaging, or for onward supply to Australia and New Zealand.
They uncovered that Cornelius Corrigan, 54, was responsible for identifying and recruiting people who would allow their addresses to be used to receive illicit parcels from Holland, while Luke Robinson, 33, also received and collected parcels for delivery.
Co-conspirator Thomas Warman, 34, also was part of the core team helping to move drugs and sell the imported drugs locally from an address at St Catherines. Further examination of his passports and financial records showed that also travelled nine times to Amsterdam with Lawless. A van used in one of the trips was found to have a secret compartment which operated with a hydraulic lift which is believed to have been where the drugs were stored.
The next step in the investigation was to find out when, where, and how the drugs were being moved, and by who. This led officers to Andrew Tant, 47, would take the parcels to the post office to the be shipped.
Another, Joanne Collins, 33, of Newark Road, Lincoln, allowed packages to be delivered to her house using her name. After her arrest she phoned her phone provider and attempted to get a factory reset to delete the content of her phones, saying they had been stolen.
As their investigation continued, the team became aware that one parcel was unaccounted for. The postage paid on a backgammon board game had been insufficient, and the parcel which had been packaged as coming from a local business to continue with the subterfuge of legitimacy, was “returned to sender” from New Zealand. This business stocked that particular product and believed it to be a legitimate return, and added it back to their shelves, but had played no part in the conspiracy.
It contained 1kg of meth. This game was sold to a toy store in Estonia. Luckily, the store owner in Estonia still had it and was able to return it to the UK as part of the investigation.
This proved a key part in the eventual evidence used to secure convictions, because it showed how legitimate business had been used as a front for the illegal activity.
The conspiracy crumbled on 11 May 2021 thanks to officers from Lincolnshire Police and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU).
Officers conducted simultaneous arrests, seizing items including sealed board games and cash from Lawless’ home, mobile phones used to discuss the drugs supply from Collins’ address, drugs and drug equipment at Goddard’s address, and thousands of pounds of cash at Robinson’s home.
Detective Superintendent Kerry Webb was the senior investigating officer on the case at EMSOU. She said: “The evidence-gathering took months, but by working with law enforcement agencies across the world, we were able to prove the lengths they went to for their drugs business. Parcels were intercepted by Royal Mail workers in the UK, as well as New Zealand and Australia Customs Service. All three organisations worked closely with police to bring down the operation.
"Some of these drugs were also ending up on the streets of Lincolnshire, so tackling this was also our duty to keep our community safe.
“It was an incredibly complex investigation, and all those involved are a credit to policing for their tenacity to keep at it and bring these people to justice.”
A large part of breaking the case open was down to work with customs officials in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as law enforcement agencies in those countries, and Royal Mail. A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Our security team assisted throughout this investigation, providing their investigators with the required evidence to pinpoint where and when these illicit parcels were being sent. We are very pleased our support helped to ensure a conviction and this series of jail sentences. We will always do everything we can to make our service extremely hostile to criminals.”
Full charges:
- Patrick Lawless, 43, of Doddington Road, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation / export of goods. He was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in June 2023.
- Arthur Dunn, 59, of Eastleigh Close, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation of goods. He was sentenced to 16 years in June 2023.
- Thomas Warman, 34, of St Andrews Drive, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation of goods; and conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of class A. He was sentenced to 9 years in June 2023.
- Cornelius Corrigan, 54, of Charles Street, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation of goods. He was sentenced to 12 years in June 2023.
- Luke Robinson, 33, of Lupin Road, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation of goods and export. He has been sentenced to 8 years 3 months in June 2023.
- Andrew Tant, 47 of Melville Street, Lincoln pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation of goods and export, conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of class A. He was sentenced to 7 years 6 months in June 2023.
- Joanne Collins, 33, of Newark Road, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to conspiracy fraudulently to evade prohibition on the importation of goods; and a separate charge of perverting the course of justice. She was sentenced to 9 years in June 2023.
- Patrick Taylor, 58, of Cross O Cliff Hill, Lincoln pleaded guilty to conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation of goods. He was sentenced to 7 years in June 2023.
- Soyeb Vesmawala, 50, of Fort Ann Road, Batley, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy fraudulently to evade a prohibition on the importation of goods, and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was sentenced to seven years.
Another woman who pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine was given an 18 month sentence, suspended for 2 year, and 150 hours of unpaid work, and another woman who pleaded guilty to the same offence was given an 16 month sentence, suspended for 2 years, and ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, and undertake up to 15 days rehabilitation.
Pitcured is a book siezed from a post office in Lincoln, still in its wrapping:
Pictured is Andrew Tant in the post office sending a parcel:
Pictured are games and books siezed from Andrew Tant when he was arrested:
Pictured is the back cover of the LEGO book with a layer removed to reveal the package:
Pictured is a book siezed with the covers removed to show where the drugs were stored:
