UPDATE:cocaine baron gets 30 years.

[fnord]

from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...on/6520543.stm

Cocaine baron jailed for 30 years
Brian Wright


Brian Wright was well-known in the horseracing world
The boss of a lucrative international cocaine smuggling empire has been jailed for 30 years.

Brian Wright, 60, who lived in Chelsea, west London, before fleeing the country, masterminded multi-million pound shipments of the Class A drug.

His gang used luxury yachts to import the drugs from Venezuela, via the Caribbean, to the UK, a court heard.

"You were a master criminal, manipulative, influential and powerful," Judge Peter Moss told him.

"I accept that you will be a very much older man when you are entitled to be released," he said at Woolwich Crown Court.

"I accept too...the possibility that you may not live that long."


The reality will be that he probably dies in jail
Jerome Lynch QC

'Richest criminal' punished
A drugs empire unravelled

He said cocaine abuse caused "unquantifiable misery to tens of thousands of victims".

"Those who import and distribute it call upon themselves lengthy terms of imprisonment," he said.

"You played for the very highest stakes and won, for a number of years, a luxury lifestyle.

"You knew the consequences of detection and conviction."

Wright, who was found guilty of drugs offences on Monday, accepted he would die in jail, his lawyer said.

He was found guilty of conspiracy to evade prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug and conspiracy to supply drugs.

The 60-year-old listened to the judge ask for any mitigating circumstances, before he stood up to say: "There is no mitigation, Your Honour."

The trial heard Wright's criminal network was enormous and masterminded the shipment of cocaine with a street value running into hundreds of millions of pounds.

11-year investigation

Customs officials said the network was "probably the most sophisticated and successful global cocaine trafficking organisation ever to target the UK".

An investigation, codenamed Operation Extend, led officers on a massive trail spanning the Irish Republic, the Caribbean, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Australia, France, South Africa, Switzerland, Spain and northern Cyprus.


The Sea Mist Yacht

Racing's 'Mr Big'

An 11-year investigation saw 19 convictions worldwide, excluding that of Wright.

The probe was sparked in September 1996 when a yacht named the Sea Mist was discovered off course in Cork, in the Irish Republic, carrying 599kg (1,320lb)of cocaine with a street value of £80m hidden in the dumb waiter.

Over the next two years four further boatloads of cocaine were smuggled ashore under the control of the Wright Organisation, Customs said.

In February 1999, officers seized 472kg (1,040lb)of cocaine from a lock-up garage in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, and from a farm in Laleham, Surrey.

Wright, originally from the Irish Republic, fled to northern Cyprus in 1999. He was arrested in 2005 when he went to Spain.

He was well-known in horse racing circles and rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, including comedian Jim Davidson, who was called to testify.

The 60-year-old was banned from going to race meetings and liaising with jockeys and trainers due to evidence he was "previously involved in serious incidents that defrauded the betting public", the Jockey Club said.

[stoneinfocus]

Uh, oh, cocaine, what a misery )) South America is Sodom and all inhabitants doomed, so are evil cocaine-lurkes.

look at him, what an evil looking guy, what bad intentions, he deserves to die.

Reputation Comments on this post:

quote:what bad intentions, he deserves to die. judge not lest ye be judge

[fnord]

cociane ruins lifes,but if someones oing to throw themselfs into and addiction they there probly already dead inside.

[stoneinfocus]

BTW, my last sentece/post in this thread was >pure< sarcasm, I´m sorry I´ve expected everyone to know my opinions on that, which is impossible in the www forums world. ;-)

IMHO cocaine use is mostly for "upper-class" users, and for their the use is invisible to the public and no one is harmed, imho even less than it´d be if they were using alcohol.

[Jatelka]

Just a question: Why is this not in "Cocaine"?

Stories about particular drugs should go in that forum.

[pokeyjo304]

that story reminds me of the movie "blow" which is the best movie ever.

[fnord]

jatelkaorry i new it wa s something like that but wasent compelty sure if a mods wiling to look over my post in the news section that be great,or should i flag each one,and write that it should be moved to the apropiate forum?

[dreamatrix]

'Uh, oh, cocaine, what a misery )) South America is Sodom and all inhabitants doomed, so are evil cocaine-lurkes.'

look at him, what an evil looking guy, what bad intentions, he deserves to die.
Reply With Quote

whatabout drugs should be legal instead of bitchin about who deserves what or not ,alcohol ,and the pharmaceutical companies probably have killed many more trough legal ways , if tomorw cocaine were legal they'd be selling it to you with no problem and by fat porshes and ferraris with the money , face it ppl just use and abuse drugs, good ones, bad ones, colored ones haha be happy there are ppl like this guyit would be alot more boring place on only xanax and diazepam mixed with some synthetic freak opiod molecules to keep you just tuned to working sleeping and watching tv

[Euphoria_bloke]

There is no denying that cocaine can cause missery to many but no one forces the drug up thir noses and many people use cocaine and not become heavily addicted i believe the sentences for drug dealers/trafficers is too high considering the sentences handed out for other crimes which i and many belive is worse e.g. child porn, rape etc

[Trebor]

I thik it's well worth pointing out that he's Irish.

"Sinne fianna fail..."

lol

He is an amazing business man who's only mistake was getting too cocky. Also transporting a lot of cocaine didn't help much.

[stoneinfocus]

There´s a lot more misery spread by alcohol / alcoholics, swims life was ruined even without abusing it himslef, because his father and the whole neighbourhood is on it, conservative as fuck, sexual complexed, fat, animal- molesting, matraze-yellow&stiff masturbating(swim´s brother) morons, but that´s perfectly OK, if you drink alcohol, like soccer and eat pussy only.

If you don´t like pussy the animal-molesting. fat alcohol, conservative party fan is preferred, while those, prefering diversity are murder threatend, treated like an animal, ignored and bad mouthed in every way, mobbed and tryed be hit in an accident whenever it seems possible.

Of course, this man is a normal businessman, which is now faced to an medi-eval court and judge(ment), for the misery, spread by politicians and their inability to handle social, intellectual and human issues within their political agenda, while enjoying the privileges of a politician-diet, resp. complete financial safety and blaming the ones, that are just in sight, for their faults. thinking we´d be intriguied by this tactic -I´m so fed-up about it, word´s can´t exlain. Are we taht stupid? -o, helpless about it, yes in most of the cases, definately<, while the movie industry teaches us, that the righteous is always a "hero" to whom everything will turn right in the end, but in real life, it isn´t, most of us are -not- James Bond, SeanConery, Tom Cruise, has not the team of forensic scientist and counsieling that will prove you unguilty, reforming laws, etc. .

[Donmeka]

a 10+ yr run is an amazing run for anyone playing that game. i fully respect him and the judge because it just went the right way. the judge said you knew what you were doing and what the consequences were, w finally got you. The man understood and accepted the punishment of the state/cuntry he lives in or got caught. like it or not they do set laws so you got to go around them.

pretty much i respeect the cat for accepting the reaction of his action.