British police investigating a UK-based organised crime group helped dismantle an international operation trying to smuggle "pink panther cocaine" thousands of miles overseas. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Lee Brittles, 47, and Teo Grbesic, 23 - two members of a Liverpool crime group - tried to ship a huge consignment of the pink-coloured substance to New South Wales in Australia in 2025.
252.8kg consignment disguised as industrial saw
The drug, which contains a mix of MDMA, ketamine and caffeine, was shipped to Castle Hill disguised as an industrial bench cutting saw. The pair tried to ship the huge, 252.8kg batch sealed in packages stamped with Pink Panther logos from Liverpool via FedEx, but were caught by a suspicious courier before it made its way to Australia and New Zealand.
The drugs had a street value of £11.3 million in the UK, but would have fetched up to AUD$57m after they were transported over thousands of miles to Australia, the NCA said. Brittles and Grbesic's consignment attracted the suspicion of their FedEx driver, however, who reported it to Border Force officers who, in turn, alerted the NCA.
Multiple thwarted attempts to export drugs
The agency said that Brittles, of Garston, Liverpool, and his accomplices tried another eight times to export drugs to Australia and New Zealand. During another attempt on February 12, 2025, Ashley Armstrong, 32, of Wavertree, Liverpool, dropped off a cardboard box destined for New Zealand at a DHL collection point in Lancaster. The package was labelled as vehicle parts but contained 8kg of MDMA.
It was scanned at Manchester Airport by Border Force officers and referred to the NCA which was already investigating the original attempted shipment. Another attempt came a few weeks later on March 4, when Brittles and accomplice Karl Dalton, 45, of Mossley Hill, Liverpool, dropped off a parcel at a Warrington FedEx depot addressed to a New Zealand premises. The package, again, was described as "vehicle parts" but contained 2.9kg of methamphetamine.
Further attempts and arrests
NCA officers again seized the parcel, with Brittles having already been under surveillance at the time the postage attempt was made. Brittles and Armstrong tried again the following day via a FedEx depot in Speke, Liverpool, the NCA said, where they dropped off an 11.6kg consignment of MDMA, again bound for New Zealand, and again labelled as "vehicle parts".
And 48 hours later, the group made another attempt to send methamphetamine, this time a 6kg package to Australia. They were labelled as a whiskey decanter and dropped off at a depot but by an unidentified man. The group would go on to make another four attempts to smuggle ketamine, cocaine and MDMA to New Zealand, the NCA said. Each time, the agency said the drugs were recovered and the group was prevented from exploiting FedEx's fast parcel delivery system.
NCA partners at the Australian Federal Police investigated an offender they said had planned to receive the consignment of "pink cocaine". Following the offending, Grbesic, of Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia, fled to Germany, but was eventually arrested in Duisberg, near the Dutch border.
Sentences handed down
He was extradited to the UK in July, and, with his fellow offenders, admitted to trying to smuggle Class A and B drugs. Brittles, who already has more than 20 criminal convictions, was sentenced to 17 years and eight months behind bars at Liverpool Crown Court. Grbesic was sentenced to 13 years and four months, while Dalton received 12 years, and Armstrong 10 years and four months.
The man being investigated by Australian federal police also admitted his involvement, and he is due to be sentenced in December. Colin Shackleton, NCA senior investigating officer, said: "Protecting the public from the threat of Class A drugs is a top priority for the National Crime Agency. Working with partners such as Border Force and colleagues in Australia and New Zealand, we have prevented these toxic substances from entering our communities."
