Four members of a Liverpool organised crime gang have been jailed for attempting to smuggle $57m worth of 'pink cocaine' and other drugs to Australia and New Zealand. The gang's activities were uncovered after a FedEx driver became suspicious of a package and reported it to authorities.
Pink Panther logo packaging raised suspicions
Lee Brittles, 47, and Teo Grbesic, 23, stamped their packages with a Pink Panther logo before handing them over to a FedEx driver in Liverpool on October 10 2024. The driver reported the shipment to Border Force officers, who alerted the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The shipment contained 252.8kg of 'pink cocaine', a powdered mixture of MDMA, ketamine and caffeine. The drugs were addressed to Castle Hill in New South Wales, disguised as an industrial bench cutting saw. The street value was around £11.3m in the UK, but $57m in Australia.
Multiple attempts to export drugs
Brittles, of Dinesen Road in Garston, and his accomplices made eight further attempts to export drugs to Australia and New Zealand. On February 12 2025, Ashley Armstrong, 32, of Chestnut Grove, Wavertree, 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.
On March 4, Brittles and Karl Dalton, 45, of Briardale Road, Mossley Hill, dropped off a parcel at a FedEx depot in Warrington. It was addressed to a premises in New Zealand and described as vehicle parts, but contained 2.9kg of methamphetamine. Brittles was under surveillance and NCA officers seized the parcel.
The next day, Brittles and Armstrong visited a FedEx depot in Speke and dropped off 11.6kg of MDMA for shipping to New Zealand, again labelled as 'vehicle parts'. Just 48 hours later, on March 7 2025, the gang tried to send 6kg of ketamine to Australia, labelled as a whiskey decanter and dropped off at a parcel depot by an unidentified man.
The group made another four attempts to smuggle ketamine, cocaine and MDMA to New Zealand and Australia by exploiting the fast parcel delivery system. NCA officers recovered the drugs each time.
Sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court
Grbesic, of Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia, fled to Germany following his offending. He was arrested in Duisberg, near the German Dutch border, and was extradited to the UK in July.
All four offenders admitted trying to smuggle Class A and B drugs. At Liverpool Crown Court on October 2, Brittles - who has more than 20 criminal convictions - was sentenced to 17 years and eight months. Grbesic was sentenced to 13 years and four months, Dalton to 12 years, and Armstrong to 10 years and four months.
The NCA worked with partners at the Australian Federal Police, which investigated an offender in relation to planned receipt of the 'pink cocaine'. The man has admitted his involvement and will 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.”
