A lorry driver who stopped for a cup of tea at a burger van inadvertently foiled an £80 million cocaine heist. The driver noticed a grey transit van park at the rear of his lorry at a lay-by on Lilliput Road, Northampton, in November 2021, and saw a group removing large, wrapped packages from the HGV before fleeing.
The driver believed he was transporting 29 pallets of steel furniture parts from Mexico, which had been sealed. After Northamptonshire Police located the silver Transit van used in the heist, they found 11 holdalls containing drugs. Inside the lorry, officers discovered seven holdalls of cocaine that had been left behind.
Three jailed for 47 years
Three people were jailed for a combined 47 years after officers recovered 18 holdalls of cocaine, totalling 780kg with a street value of more than £80 million, police said. Craig Le-Mare, 36, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to 20 years' imprisonment for conspiracy to supply cocaine. Kelly Robertson, 46, of Peregrine Close, Watford, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court in November 2024 for conspiracy to supply cocaine. Michael Weston, 57, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court in May to 12 years and nine months' imprisonment for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Police said the trio 'switched cars, changed number plates, split up and even falsely reported the van as stolen as they desperately tried to avoid detection'. After the shipment was identified, specialist Metropolitan Police officers launched an investigation, gathering CCTV and tracking the suspects' routes to and from the scene.
Investigation details
The investigation uncovered that the gang had been working for the previous month to hire vehicles and get people in place for the attempted heist. Financial records showed group members had arrived in Ipswich on the same day the shipment arrived at Felixstowe port on November 12, 2021. They had 'booked rooms at a budget hotel, hired a van and ordered large takeaways to their rooms', police said.
Officers found they had laid in wait until the morning of November 26, 2021, when they followed the lorry as it left the haulage yard. Driving in a black Ford Mondeo, a grey Vauxhall Astra and white BMW, they trailed it for 125 miles across the country to Northampton, with Weston sending a message to his partner saying 'things are happening for me v soon'. After news of the police seizure broke in 2021, phone data showed Weston had texted a friend a link to a BBC article and complained he was now 'skint' for Christmas.
Robertson was arrested on December 14, 2023, after Met officers unravelled the network. Le-Mare left the UK shortly after the drugs were seized and was arrested at Gatwick Airport on January 25, 2025.
Police comments
Detective Inspector Dean Grafton, who led the Met's investigation, said: 'This investigation exposed an intricately planned operation, where the defendants hoped to make millions by selling cocaine across the UK. Officers worked for two years as they meticulously unravelled their operation, conclusively proving their role in the attempted heist.'
Assistant Chief Constable Emma James, of Northamptonshire Police, said: 'The discovery of this substantial quantity of cocaine in Northamptonshire led to a significant investigation which ultimately prevented dangerous drugs from reaching communities across the UK. While the Metropolitan Police led the subsequent investigation, the swift response by Northamptonshire Police officers at the outset helped secure crucial evidence and disrupt the criminal group's plans. The harm caused by cocaine extends far beyond those directly involved in its supply and use, fuelling exploitation, violence and wider criminality.'
