Brian Wright is being chased for £45million in profits from his billion-pound cocaine smuggling operation,

Brian Wright is being chased for £45million in profits from his billion-pound cocaine smuggling operation, a court heard.The 61-year-old godfather — who was known as The Milkman because he always delivered — is serving 30 years in jail after being convicted last year. In 2004 he was said to be worth £600m and prosecutors have this week been trying to claw back the proceeds of his crimes at Woolwich Crown Court.But Wright, who had a house in Frimley, claims he has no assets left. He is refusing to attend the hearing despite being brought from Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire to the high-security Belmarsh jail in south London.His barrister Jerome Lynch QC told the court: “His position is he has nothing and no matter how much he says it, that will not be accepted.“Everything he paid for was paid for in cash and rented.“The approach the Crown has taken is so unrealistic that it is pointless engaging and he takes the view that it almost doesn’t matter.<br />“He is nearly 62 years of age, and is serving 30 years. He will not see the light of day.“One can understand a man of his age taking that approach when it is likely he will die in jail.”Mr Lynch said Wright’s wife died last year and added: “Is it really supposed that this man who allowed his wife to die in a rented apartment in Spain is the holder of £45million?’But Wright is refusing to give evidence in court to back up his claims he has no money left.“He has no intention of going into the witness box to give any further evidence other than that which he gave in the trial,” said Mr Lynch.<br />Brian Wright led a double life as a notorious horse-racing punter and a major league gangster before his arrest in Spain 2005.He rubbed shoulders with royalty, boasted a celebrity lifestyle.He laundered his drug money by making huge wagers on horse racing.Wright, married for 43 years, even boasted of meeting singer Frank Sinatra and film star Clint Eastwood.His wealth afforded him a house in Frimley, his rented luxury apartment in Chelsea Harbour, and a £2m villa — named El Lechero, the Spanish for The Milkman — in Spain.He had a box at the Royal Ascot race meeting for 14 years and was a member of the exclusive clubs Tramps and Annabels in London.<br />Wright was finally nailed by a Customs and Excise operation which began after a boat named Sea Mist was boarded by Irish Police at Cork Harbour on September 29, 1996.<br />Officers found 1,230lb of cocaine — valued at more than £50m — hidden in the dumb waiter of the yacht.The shipment was meant to have been smuggled into the UK and stored at a safe house in Lymington, Hampshire, but the gang fled the property after hearing of the arrest of the crew.Left at the house was Brian Wright’s Channel 4 Racing Diary containing contact numbers for other members of his cartel, as well as dozens of famous names in horse racing and TV. In 1997, police began bugging Wright’s exclusive riverside flat in Chelsea Harbour and following him and his friends, including right-hand man Kevin Hanley.The next year, as three more shipments successfully arrived in the UK via Poole, Dorset, and Salcombe, Devon, Wright was arrested over horse-fixing allegations.<br />He was released on bail and in December 1998 he left the UK for Spain after having a heart bypass operation.But on February 12, 1999, Wright’s son Brian Anthony Wright and son-in-law Paul Shannon were among 15 people arrested in connection with the smuggling investigation. Five days after his son’s arrest, Wright Snr paid £20,000 through his daughter Joanne for a private jet to take him and jockey Declan Murphy to Northern Cyprus.Because the territory had no extradition treaty with the UK, he was effectively safe from arrest until he moved on to Spain in 2002.<br />It was only in the spring of 2005 that Wright Snr was arrested in Marbella and flown back to Britain to face trial.The same year, police arrested Hanley’s girlfriend Anni Rowland for laundering drug money and found nearly £70,000 at her home in Great Burford, Oxfordshire.<br />Wright, whose last known address was in Cadiz, Spain, denied one count of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to supply drugs.<br />His only previous conviction is for dishonesty, obtaining property by deception, in the late 1970s.<br />Wright Jnr, now 40, of Ridgemount, Weybridge, Surrey, was found guilty of drugs importation and jailed for 16 years.<br />Paul Shannon, now 42, of Lockier Walk, Wembley, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply and jailed for five years. <br />The hearing continues.

Brian Wright is being chased for £45million in profits from his billion-pound cocaine smuggling operation,

Brian Wright is being chased for £45million in profits from his billion-pound cocaine smuggling operation, a court heard.The 61-year-old god...

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Passive Alert Narcotics Detection Animal (PANDA) scans people for the presence of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines.

If the dog thinks a person is carrying drugs they will sit next to them. Officers then have a power to search that person to look for drugs. One of the PANDA dogs scanned people waiting in queues for nightclubs and bars on Friday night.<br />Although there were no arrests made on this occasion it sent out a warning to revellers that police would be carrying out regular operations throughout the summer. Every weekend police put on additional patrols to meet the needs of Newcastle's popular social scene.City centre officers work closely with licensees and door staff every day of the week in an attempt to curtail disorder and the use of drugs. This operation was the first of a series of PANDA dog patrols which will continue throughout the summer.It's aimed at reinforcing the good work already being done by door supervisors who randomly search customers as a condition of entry into pubs and clubs. Over the past four months, more than 100 people have been arrested as a result of spot checks on entry by door supervisors and drugs including cocaine, heroin and amphetamine have been seized. <br />Neighbourhood Sergeant Claire Lawson said: "People who come to Newcastle just want to enjoy themselves and our job is to make sure they do just that. <br />"However, we won't tolerate the small percentage who bring drugs into the city centre, or whose bad behaviour starts to impact on other people's enjoyment, and the PANDA dog is one of many pro-active tactics we use. "We'd like to reassure people we are listening to their concerns and will continue to do all we can to tackle this issue so the city centre remains a safe and vibrant place for everyone to enjoy an evening out." The city centre becomes a popular venue during the summer for stag and hen parties, and also birthday celebrations. Sgt Lawson added: "It can be on these occasions when people may try drugs for the first time and it's those people we will catch out during these operations. Don't celebrate your birthday with a conviction. <br />"The city centre also has a successful Pubwatch scheme - where premises work together to share information instantly - which is supported by door staff. <br />"It demonstrates that by working closely with our partners and the community we can continue to be successful in reducing crime and disorder in Newcastle."

Passive Alert Narcotics Detection Animal (PANDA) scans people for the presence of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines.

If the dog thinks a person is carrying drugs they will sit next to them. Officers then have a power to search that person to look for drugs....

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Police recorded 217 visitors to the house, including regular visits by 20 known heroin users.

Dealers’ homes were targeted in police swoops after months of intelligence gathering by police.Nine targets were arrested and suspected drugs were seized in Operation Pembroke last September.Now, after the suspects have been dealt with by the courts over the past few months, police have revealed how their arrests have brought a drop in crime.The figures were given by Chester-le-Street community Insp Paul Anderson as he welcomed the last of the sentences handed out to people arrested during the operation.He said: “Since Operation Pembroke we have seen a sharp drop in crimes such as shoplifting, purse thefts and street robberies.“We believe most of these crimes were connected to the supply of drugs in the town.“In one incident an elderly woman suffered a broken arm during a robbery.”Insp Anderson said in August last year, before the raids, there were 352 crimes reported in the whole district, compared to 294 in October – a month after the arrests.In January this year there were 302 reported crimes, compared to 401 in January last year.<br />Eight people admitted being concerned with the supply of the Class A drug heroin, while a ninth admitted offering the drug.Sentences ranged from a nine-month suspended jail term to six years imprisonment.Durham Crown Court was told in February that Malcolm Pentland, 28, had allowed his house in the town’s Tuart Street to become a safe haven for drug taking and dealing.He was jailed for six years.<br />During Operation Pembroke, police recorded 217 visitors to the house, including regular visits by 20 known heroin users.<br />Undercover officers made 15 separate test purchases and were supplied £10 wraps of heroin.Last week Darren Turnbull, 23, of Arthur Street, High Handenhold, near Pelton, was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years with 100 hours of unpaid work.Kevin Watson, 48, of John Street, Beamish, was sentenced to serve 12 months, in addition to 138 days left from his last sentence.Richard Kaye, 25, of Windsor Terrace, Great Lumley, Chester-le-Street, was jailed for 12 months.<br />Insp Anderson said: “I am pleased with the sentences which have been handed out to criminals.“We are not resting on our laurels and want to reassure the community that we will act on all information that we receive.”

Police recorded 217 visitors to the house, including regular visits by 20 known heroin users.

Dealers’ homes were targeted in police swoops after months of intelligence gathering by police.Nine targets were arrested and suspected drug...

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killing of Richard Petty over a mere £80 sheds a harsh light on the perils of Teesside’s drugs underworld

killing of Richard Petty over a mere £80 sheds a harsh light on the perils of Teesside’s drugs underworld, even at its lower levels. CCTV captured the murderers’ movements with chilling precision. Into the lift, up to the seventh floor, back down, then out - in four minutes.<br />CCTV captured the murderers’ movements with chilling precision. Into the lift, up to the seventh floor, back down, then out - in four minutes.“They had at the most 90 seconds in that flat,” says Detective Inspector Andy Greenwood, above, from Cleveland Police’s murder investigation team, who retraced their steps at the Melsonby Court flats.Mark ‘Peo’ Pearson and Joe Tingle were hardly sophisticated drugs kingpins living in high-rolling opulence.As heroin users themselves, they had advanced up the food chain to using at least one “lieutenant” to sell drugs for them and share the profits.But their savage execution of Richard Petty in his Billingham home between 2.36 and 2.40pm on March 25 was every bit as vicious and ruthlessly efficient as any gangland ‘hit’.With heroin and half a bottle of vodka inside him, Pearson walked silently into the living room and spoke to Mr Petty.Without giving him a chance to reply, Pearson was seen swiping and lunging at him with a large kitchen knife, twice thrusting the blade into his body up to the hilt.Richard Petty was left lying on his back, dying in a pool of blood with seven stab wounds, one into the heart.“It was a totally unprovoked attack on a man who was sitting in the living room of his flat, unprotected,” says Det Insp Greenwood.

killing of Richard Petty over a mere £80 sheds a harsh light on the perils of Teesside’s drugs underworld

killing of Richard Petty over a mere £80 sheds a harsh light on the perils of Teesside’s drugs underworld, even at its lower levels. CCTV ca...

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Adam Greener was armed with a silver revolver when he got into a woman’s car at the junction of Roman Road and Rockliffe Road in Linthorpe

Adam Greener was armed with a silver revolver when he got into a woman’s car at the junction of Roman Road and Rockliffe Road in Linthorpe and said, “Drive or I’ll shoot you.”Under the influence of drugs, he tried to snatch the driver’s handbag from the passenger seat of the Peugeot 206, which was stationary in traffic.Greener, 20, of Westbourne Road, Middlesbrough, admitted two charges at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.He pleaded guilty to attempting to rob 46-year-old mum Kay Cotton, from the Eston area, of her handbag on January 15, and possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to commit robbery.Prosecutor Ian West said: “She describes going back to her car after going to the shop.“A man, the defendant, gets into the passenger seat of the car. He says, ‘Drive.’“When she doesn’t immediately do that, he produces this weapon and says, ‘Drive or I’ll shoot you.’“The defendant accepts what Mrs Cotton says he said when he got into the car.”The hooded raider fled empty-handed, while Mrs Cotton got out of the car and was shaken but not injured.She was taken into a nearby shop and given a cup of tea to calm her nerves until police arrived and sealed off the area in Roman Road.Greener had been accused of attempted kidnap, but the Crown are no longer proceeding with that charge because of his guilty pleas.He had no previous serious crimes which would classify him as a dangerous offender.But if it is discovered that he had a prohibited weapon, he could face a minimum sentence of five years in prison.It has still not been confirmed for certain whether the weapon, found in Mrs Cotton’s car, was an imitation or real firearm.“There were apparently bullets in the chambers of this revolver, but the barrel was blocked at the bridge,” Mr West told the court yesterday.It is not certain whether it could be adapted to fire a lethal missile, he added. Experts are to be consulted, and there may be a court hearing to decide the issue.<br />Peter Sabiston, defending, said Greener was under the influence of Class C drugs at the time.<br />The judge, Recorder Michael Slater, adjourned sentencing until April 11 for reports to be prepared on Greener, who was remanded in custody. The attack was described as an “isolated incident”.<br />But it prompted Cleveland Police to urge drivers to take extra care when stationary in built-up areas, to lock doors while travelling, sound horns if in danger and not to leave bags on seats or in footwells.

Adam Greener was armed with a silver revolver when he got into a woman’s car at the junction of Roman Road and Rockliffe Road in Linthorpe

Adam Greener was armed with a silver revolver when he got into a woman’s car at the junction of Roman Road and Rockliffe Road in Linthorpe a...

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