A group of criminals from the North East who oversaw the importation of large amounts of cocaine – including loads concealed in empty gas cannisters – have been sentenced to a total of more than 141 years’ imprisonment.
The National Crime Agency investigated the offenders, with assistance from the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) and Northumbria Police on some of the cases.
A number of the criminals used the encrypted communications platform EncroChat to discuss their offending.
Details of the cases, which date back to the Covid 19 pandemic, can be released after reporting restrictions were lifted at Newcastle Crown Court when three of the men were sentenced.
Among them was Kevin Taylor, 43, from Newcastle upon Tyne, whose EncroChat handle was “loyalmover”. He was jailed for 27 years in relation to a plot to supply more than 200 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £68.75 million, and his part in the importation of 172 kilos of cocaine hidden in the gas containers.
Part of the 200-kilo importation included 42 kilos which he planned to smuggle from the Netherlands between March and June 2020 with assistance from David Jeavons, 60, from Felton; David Bowen, 53, from Mitcham, London; Guy Mitchell, 56, from Blaydon on Tyne and William McChesney, 35, from Northern Ireland.
Jeavons had the role of an organiser and facilitator, making plans for the drugs to be imported and moved to the North East, and was known as “slickpearl” on EncroChat. When he was arrested, £24,000 in cash was found in the roof of his caravan.
Bowen helped arrange the importation and used the EncroChat handle “discocockney”. Mitchell, who owned a haulage company, asked Bowen detailed questions about costs, loading and routes for the drugs, while McChesney acted as a ‘transport manager’.
Jeavons was sentenced to 10 years and eight months’ imprisonment and Bowen to four years’ imprisonment respectively on Friday, 26 September.
At one point the wider gang discussed how 10 kilos of the cocaine had gone missing and they identified a man in Fenham who they believed had stolen it. There were messages about “grabbing him” and an Osman warning – where police inform someone their life is in danger – was issued to the man at one point.
In July 2020, Jeavons and Mitchell met with another criminal associate at the M62 Ferrybridge Services, where they had a heated discussion about how to handle the situation.
Taylor was also convicted of a separate plot to smuggle cocaine from The Netherlands into the UK hidden in gas canisters. The containers had been welded shut before the drugs were placed inside, the cannister welded up and then re-painted.
Between October 2019 and April 2020, 12 gas bottles were collected by vehicles from locations in Chatham, Kent, Corby and Northampton, and Peterborough. Each bottle contained between 12 and 16 kilos of cocaine, which totalled 172 kilos. Hidden compartments in the vehicles were used for the onwards transportation of money and drugs.
Colin Somerville, 46, from Newcastle upon Tyne, was Taylor’s second in command and opened the bottles when they arrived in the North East. Michael Watson, 46, and Craig Martin, 47, both also from Newcastle, were responsible for collecting the bottles and delivering the drugs once they had been opened. They also moved £8.2 million in cash to pay for further supplies of drugs.
Other main players in the conspiracies included 38-year-old Stephen Faetz and Craig Dalton, 49, both from North Shields; Harry Monteith, 45, and Philip Curry, 48, both from Newcastle upon Tyne and 55-year-old Shaun Ennis, from Sefton.
Faetz, using the handle “crowd-control”, bought more than 100 kilos of cocaine from Taylor and owned a Citan van with a purpose built hide he used to conceal a number of encrypted phones. He orchestrated drugs handovers, drop offs, pick-ups and sample-taking providing times, locations and tokens.
Monteith collected and delivered cocaine for Faetz, checking the quality and its distribution. He collected cash and used his own address for deliveries. He was due to be sentenced at the same court today (3 October) but this was adjourned until 13 October.
Dalton used his legitimate employment as a taxi driver to courier cash for Faetz, with numerous exchange locations referenced in his seized phone.
Ennis was a Liverpool-based courier who intended to supply two kilos of cocaine hidden in a spare wheel which was meant to be collected at his home address by 58-year-old Gerard Gannon in April 2020.
However, Gannon was stopped by police on the A1 near Tadcaster, who found £73,500 in cash hidden in the spare wheel of his Mercedes van.
Philip Curry, 48, from Newcastle upon Tyne, stored drugs at his compound where he tested, washed and repressed the commodity to maximise profits before it was sold on.
Other events included:
- In April 2020 Somerville deposited £500,000 in cash generated from drugs sales into the home of 67-year-old John Nicholson in Felton Drive, Newcastle. The money had been hidden behind an electric fire and was found by a police cash dog.
- Mitchell arranged the collection of 15 kilos of cocaine worth £615,000 in Warrington, which was destined for the North East. He employed 50-year-old Hugh Goldie from Stanley, County Durham, to drive one of his HGVs and fetch the drugs in early April 2020.
- Goldie was arrested by police on the A1 northbound, between junction 60 and 61, in mid-April 2020 after £15,020 was found in the lorry he was driving.
The investigations formed part of Operation Venetic, the UK NCA-led law enforcement response to the takedown of the EncroChat service in June 2020.
NCA branch commander Martin Clarke said:
“These individuals were responsible for flooding the North East with vast amounts of cocaine, some of which was transported in fairly sophisticated ways such as in gas cannisters.
“The group completely ignored the immense harm that cocaine can cause on our streets and communities. Their sole objective was making a quick profit when the UK was at the height of the Covid 19 lockdown.
“The cocaine trade creates violence and exploitation at every level, and working together with partners like the NEROCU and Northumbria Police helped ensure that this gang faced justice for the crimes they committed.
“The NCA will continue to work at home and abroad to tackle the organised crime groups behind this vile trade.”
NEROCU Detective Chief Inspector Max Leonard, said:
“This has been an extremely complex and lengthy investigation which, thanks to the dedication of those involved, has seen a large-scale criminal organisation dismantled and those responsible behind bars.
“I want to thank all the officers and staff who have invested their time and resources to produce a strong case for the courts – without whom, this wouldn’t have been possible.
“This type of criminality is not welcome in the North East and under the banner of Operation Sentinel, our region wide approach to tackling Serious and Organised Crime, we remain committed to pursuing suspects, protecting the public and keeping communities safe from the violence and harm that comes from drug operations just like this.
“Drug supply networks often help fund wider organised crimes like modern slavery, human trafficking, firearm distribution and child exploitation so our work to defund these streams continues and we ask anyone with information to contact local police or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously.”
3 October 2025
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