British drug cartel boss Richard Wakeling (55 years old) has just been arrested in Thailand after 5 years of hiding.
Subject Wakeling, who lives in the town of Brentwood in the county of Essex, in eastern England, imported $9.65 million worth of amphetamines into the UK in April 2016.
According to the DPA, Wakeling fled in 2018 shortly before the 12-week trial began. In April 2018, Chelmsford Crown Court sentenced Wakeling to 11 years in prison in absentia.
Wakeling, who uses a right prosthetic leg, has been placed on the National Crime Agency’s “wanted” list. Older brother (NCA).
On February 10, the Royal Thai Police force arrested Wakeling at a garage in Bangkok, where he went to get the car to be repaired.
While in Thailand, Wakeling lived in the coastal town of Hua Hin, and had a passport using a false identity.
David Coyle, NCA Thailand director, said Wakeling’s arrest was an example of how the agency worked “nonstop” with international partners to track the subject.
“The NCA has secured the return of Wakeling to the UK to serve his prison sentence,” Mr Coyle said.
According to Mr. Jacque Beer, head of the NCA’s regional investigation team, the information provided by the people helped track down the fugitive.
“Wakeling has connections in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Canada, Spain and Thailand. We monitor these contacts and work with partners in these countries to build intelligence networks around the drug lord,” Beer said.
The NCA has launched an investigation into Wakeling’s organized crime group, after British Border Force intercepted a lorry loaded with plastic crates full of drugs onto a Channel Tunnel train in April. 2016.
The illegal operation built by Wakeling involved a driver transporting belongings from Italy, and stopping in Ternat in Belgium to get drugs.
The NCA added that Wakeling was in contact with drug suppliers in the Netherlands, and two other criminals in the UK to arrange the trip.
British officials believe Wakeling’s gang organized at least six drug imports before his arrest in 2016.