Press release: Members of huge drug-importation conspiracy to spend longer in jail

Two members of an organised crime group have today had their sentences increased after the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC MP, referred them for being too low.

David Reece, 55, and Everton Bailey, 57, were arrested as part of an investigation into a large-scale conspiracy to import massive quantities of Class A drugs into the UK via Hull. The plan was to distribute the drugs to dealers across the Midlands and North West.

In May 2017 a shipment of 142.5kg of high purity cocaine and heroin with a street value of £66.5 million was stopped in Belgium. The investigation identified 38 similar trips, at least some of which would have involved similar amounts of drugs.

Reece and Bailey were both originally sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment at Preston Crown Court in March. Today, after the Attorney General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased their sentences to 19 years each.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Attorney General said:

This was a sophisticated commercial conspiracy to import massive quantities of drugs into the UK, which will have had a serious impact on communities across the Midlands and the North West. It is important that this is reflected in the sentencing of every person involved, and the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase Reece and Bailey’s sentences today helps to achieve that.