Waiting in the toilets at Manchester Airport, a gang of Americans thought they were a

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Waiting in the toilets at Manchester Airport, a gang of Americans thought they were about to make a lot of money
Chris SlaterWed 5 February 2025 at 5:42 pm GMT·4-min read

-Credit:Greater Manchester Police (GMP)

American drug runners were busted when £8m-worth of cocaine was found in suitcases at Manchester Airport. Five women and two men recruited by crime bosses offered 'considerable' payments were flown to the UK and ordered to pick up 12 bags.
Inside was a total of more than 300kg of the Class A drug. The plan fell apart when a bag went through an X-ray machine and the alarm was raised.
Three members of the group were arrested on the spot. Four others were detained in rooms at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, opposite the airport. Two were naked in bed when officers burst in.
Six people have now been jailed for their roles in the 'sophisticated' operation, which prosecutors said was 'orchestrated' by crooks further up the chain. Another faces prison pending a further hearing.
The recruited members - all US nationals - were split into 'teams' and travelled to Manchester on different flights, Manchester Crown Court was told.
Brian Marealle, 32, and Laquesa Greer, 50, flew in from JFK Airport in New York. Charles Mass, 29, and his girlfriend Brianna Hunt, 22, came to the UK from Orlando. And Yulibeth Gonzalez, 26, Leandra Royer, 26, and Chloe Sandoval, 24, flew from Los Angeles via Dusseldorf.
Their arrivals - on the morning May 31 last year - were timed to coincide with an incoming flight from Cancun. On that plane were 12 suitcases, each containing between 22 and 24 blocks of cocaine. Each had different a name tag.
The members were each given the details of two cases to collect. Each were told they would be paid between $4,000 and $5,000, plus travel expenses.
The 'key orchestrator' was a person named in court as 'Nate'. He worked 'in close connection' with an associate called 'Cruz', prosecutors said. They recruited members; made travel arrangements; and communicated with them via WhatsApp and Telegram.
Royer helped recruit some of the others. In a message to a friend, she promised it was quick cash and that claimed nobody had ever been arrested and said it was '100 per cent secure'. Mass recruited his girlfriend, Hunt.
A previous trip on May 11 saw Mass fly from Barbados to Manchester with no luggage. He stayed at the Holiday Inn for a night. A suitcase containing 20kg of cocaine was left unclaimed at baggage.
On May 24 Mass, Hunt and Marealle travelled to Manchester from Cancun. The the court heard that was a 'failed trip'. A message sent to Maraelle read: "Cases didn't make it."
In a message to 'Nate' a week before the trip which ended in her arrest, Greer said: "As long as I go and come back safely and get the money, I'm good."
On May 31, a member of staff at Terminal 2 baggage spotted a bag with 'unusual contents' - rectangular shaped blocks. More bags were flagged before Border Force officers struck.
The group had been given instructions to hide in the toilets before getting the cases. Sandoval picked up a bag and took it somewhere in Bury, before returning to the Hilton. Gonzalez picked up a case, but was stopped. The last message sent from her phone, to 'Nate', read: "I got caught."
Mass and Hunt 'aborted their plan' and made their way to the Hilton, where they were joined by Royer, who had been 'tipped off'. Marealle and Greer were detained as they stood by the carousel.
Later that day, Royer and Sandoval were arrested at the Hilton. Whilst Mass and Hunt were naked in bed when they were detained. One case has never been found. The rest contained cocaine with a wholesale value of around £700,000.
Sandoval, Hunt, Royer, Greer, Mass and Gonzalez, all of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to frequently evading the prohibition of the importation of a Class A controlled drug before a trial was due to begin. Marealle, also of no fixed address, stood trial and was convicted by a jury.
Marealle was sentenced to 13 years; Mass and Royer to 11 years, eight months; Gonzalez to nine years; Hunt to seven years, six months; and Greer to eight years, six months. Once they are released, they face automatic deportation to the US. Sandoval will be sentenced on February 14.
Passing sentence Judge Tom Gilbart said it was a 'considerable' and 'sophisticated' operation. He said all those involved 'knew they were doing something obviously illegal', but 'wanted to make money'.
"However it was nothing compared to the cost of the risk you were taking on for others," the judge told them. He said Marealle, Mass and Royer played a 'significant' role as they had a 'great knowledge of the scale of the enterprise'.
The judge said Hunt – who was 'young, naïve and impressionable' – Gonzalez, and Greer, who is suffering with cancer, played a 'lesser role'.
"Each of you were taken advantage of by more sophisticated criminals who preyed on your naïve and foolish view that you could make easy money," he added.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/waiting-toilet...43052.html