Drug dealing ‘gangster granny’ foiled by Met investigation

A family run organised crime group orchestrated by a 65-year-old grandmother have been sentenced for drug-dealing across London and the UK, following an extensive investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service.

Six women, a man and Deborah Mason, known as ‘Queen Bee’, were sentenced to a combined 106 years and six months' imprisonment for their involvement in supplying nearly a tonne of cocaine over seven months at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday, 18 July.

The group of couriers collected packages of imported cocaine and drove them all over London and the UK to locations as far as Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff between April and November 2023.

It is estimated each individual earned more than £1,000 a day.

Deborah Mason, 65 (28.02.1960), of Crayford Road, Tufnell Park played the leading role in the prolific criminal enterprise. She was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, 28 April and was sentenced at the same court to 20 years’ imprisonment on Friday, 18 July.

The sentencing comes as part of the Met’s relentless efforts to target perpetrators of crimes using precision technology.

Met Detective Constable Jack Kraushaar, who led the investigation, said:

“This was a sophisticated operation which was extremely profitable for those involved.

“Following months of work by the Met Police to relentlessly pursue these perpetrators, we were able to arrest and eventually convict them, preventing more drugs flooding streets across the UK which leads to violence, antisocial behaviour and misery for communities.

“The group were sucked into criminality, selfishly attracted by the financial benefits of the drug-dealing to fund lavish lifestyles. They were unaware we were coming for them and this sentencing should act as a deterrent to those who think about committing this type of crime.”

Robert Hutchinson, Specialist Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“This was no ordinary family. Instead of nurturing and caring for her relatives, Deborah Mason recruited them to establish an extraordinarily profitable criminal enterprise that would ultimately put them all behind bars.

“The CPS worked closely with the police from the earliest opportunity to make sure we had ample evidence to prosecute them for the full extent of their actions.

“We reviewed thousands of messages and other digital evidence that not only revealed incriminating messages sent between them, but also a significant pattern of deleting messages, helping to prove that they all knew exactly what they were doing.”

The investigation

Acting on intelligence, Met officers used a wide range of investigative techniques including extensive call data and conventional surveillance to track Mason and her courier’s movements.

The data received confirmed that on 20 April 2023, a hired car driven by Mason left her house on Crayford Road, Tufnell Park at 04:30hrs and arrived at Harwich Port at around 06:20hrs.

After just 20 minutes at the port, to collect a shipment of cocaine, the car headed back.

What followed were a number of trips made by Mason, as well as all other defendants to complete various drop offs and collections throughout the seven-month period.

Met officers discovered that trips were made to Harwich Port regularly, as well as South London, Rotherham, Southend, Leicester, Walsall and various other locations across the country.

The group used encrypted messaging site Signal to communicate. Officers trawled through thousands of messages following their arrests which further proved their criminal movements.

The messages also showed that Mason was living an extravagant lifestyle with her profits, having bought a Gucci collar and lead worth £400 for her cat as well as lots of luxury outdoor garden items. The group booked various holidays and purchased luxury goods with their earnings.

A number of hire cars and hotels were expensed as part of their spending.

Sentencing

Following the investigation, all but one of the group were arrested in May 2024. Anita Slaughter was later arrested in November 2024 after being identified from the messages.

Following an 11-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Roseanne Mason, Chloe Hodgkin, Lillie Bright, Demi Bright and Anita Slaughter were all found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on Monday, 28 April.

Prior to her trial, Lillie Bright pleaded guilty to a separate offence of offering to supply Class A drugs, identified following a review of her mobile device.

Tina Golding, Reggie Bright and Demi Kendall all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court, prior to trial.

Demi Kendall and Reggie Bright also pleaded guilty to a separate offence of possession with Intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property following seizures of cocaine and more than £15,000 cash during a search of their home address.

On Friday, 18 July, the group were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court.

• Roseanne Mason, 29 (19.05.1996), of Grosvenor Avenue, Canonbury was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment.
• Demi Bright, 30 (02.05.1995), of Samuel Peto Way, Ashford, Kent was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment.
• Lillie Bright, 26 (04.04.1999), of Evergreen Way, Ashford, Kent was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment.
• Reggie Bright, 24 (18.09.2000), of Frittenden Road, Staplehurst, Kent was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.
• Demi Kendall, 31 (15.05.1994), of Frittenden Road, Staplehurst, Kent was sentenced to 13 years and six months' imprisonment.
• Tina Golding, 66 (24.01.1959), of Beecholme Drive, Ashford, Kent was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.
• Anita Slaughter, 44 (22.08.1980), of Pearmain Way, Ashford, Kent was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment.

Chloe Hodgkin, 23 (27.01.2002) of Abbots Walk, Wye, Kent will be sentenced at a date to be set.