Overview
- At Maidstone Crown Court, ringleader Bertie Payne, 30, received a 15‑year sentence, with Peter Nicholls jailed for eight years, Karen Gordon for four years three months, and Halim Lashi given a two‑year suspended term.
- Prosecutors said the network supplied more than £800,000 of drugs across east Kent, including 24kg of cocaine, 10kg of ketamine and over 5,000 ecstasy tablets.
- Payne was first arrested on 24 January 2025 at Bluewater in Dartford as officers intercepted a planned £50,000 cash handover to Lashi.
- Investigators told the court Payne laundered proceeds through a luxury watch business using fake invoices, and the group also moved funds using cryptocurrency.
- Phone analysis uncovered more than 2,100 messages between Payne and a contact saved as ‘PBoss’, identified as Nicholls, which helped dismantle the wider operation.