Jail for heroin trafficker who used rented office in Northampton and played part in smuggling 18kg into the country
A heroin trafficker, who used a rented office in Northampton and played a part in smuggling 18kg of the drug into the country, has been jailed.
Brian Storey fled to Spain when his co-conspirators were arrested, but was finally tracked down by police. He initially pleaded not guilty to importing and supplying heroin, but changed his plea days into his trial earlier this week.
The 49-year-old was the gang’s conduit to the drug supplier in Spain. The group smuggled 18kg of heroin, worth £900,000 into the UK, and aspired to bring in as much as 90kg of the drug every week, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Investigators picked through thousands of messages sent by Storey and his cohorts on EncroChat – an encrypted communications platform used by criminals. Officers discovered the group was importing heroin from Spain and the Netherlands via mail courier services.
Heroin was delivered to rented offices for fake companies in Huntingdon, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Swindon, before being dispatched to contacts in Liverpool and North Wales.
Storey arranged delivery of heroin to the UK, including directing another defendant to set up courier firm accounts and the false companies.
Four of Storey’s co-conspirators were sentenced in 2021, but Storey absconded to Spain using a fraudulently obtained passport. After returning to the UK, Storey was arrested in Chester City Centre when a police officer responded to a report of an assault and spoke to Storey at the scene. The officers noticed he was wanted by the NCA and arrested him.
NCA lead investigating officer, Luke Seldon, said: “Our investigation exposed that Storey was an essential component in the importation of almost a million pounds-worth of heroin. Storey was point-person for the supplier in Spain and managed logistics for movement of the heroin into and around the UK.
“More deaths are associated with heroin than any other drug, so the NCA prioritises identifying and arresting those responsible for making it available in the UK.
“We work extremely closely with police across the UK and world to ensure we hold organised criminals to account. In this case, justice caught up with Storey thanks to determined NCA investigators and a vigilant Cheshire Police officer.”
Storey of Fulwood Park, Liverpool was sentenced on July 24 to 12 years and seven months in prison.