Overview
- Prosecutors told Southwark Crown Court that nearly 300 parcels were sent from the Netherlands to UPS’s Stanford-le-Hope depot over five weeks in spring 2020, all addressed to a home in Upminster.
- The insider allegedly identified specified packages and directed them onto designated vans for collection beyond the depot.
- EncroChat messages presented in court referenced “UPS going well,” described test “dry runs,” and outlined payments of about £2,000 per kilo to the gang and £750 per kilo to “King.”
- Investigators uncovered the operation during an internal inquiry into a UPS driver suspected of stealing cash from customers.
- Archbold denies the conspiracy charge; one alleged conspirator, Steven Bullen, has pleaded guilty, and three suspects — Benjamin Thake, Craig Merrin and Jurre Faber — remain at large.