Eddie Burton, 23, had sealed over 300kg of class A and B drugs in vacuum packs while hiding out in an Amsterdam flat before the stash was loaded onto lorries going to the UK
A major UK drug dealer, who attempted to import £20m worth of cocaine and ketamine, was caught partying in Ibiza’s famous Pacha nightclub.
Eddie Burton, 23, had sealed over 300kg of class A and B drugs in vacuum packs while hiding out in an Amsterdam flat before the stash was loaded onto lorries going to the UK.
Police discovered 142 kilos of cocaine and 25 kilos of heroin hidden in a modified fuel tank at the port of Dover.
Burton, alongside his ex-partner Sian Banks, 25, confessed to a series of drug-related offences in February, Liverpool Echo reported.
Banks received a five-year prison sentence during the hearing, but Burton’s sentencing was postponed by Judge Simon Taylor KC due to suspicions that he was a victim of modern slavery.
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Burton appeared at Canterbury Crown Court alongside his ex-partner for a trial of issue on Friday. Judge Taylor proceeded to sentence Burton to 19 years in prison.
Burton, who was living between the Netherlands and Spain after leaving the UK in 2021, was arrested by police at Pacha nightclub in Ibiza, for unrelated drug dealing offences.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer John Turner said: “Burton, with Banks’ help, attempted to smuggle huge quantities of harmful drugs into the UK, believing he could operate with impunity overseas.
“Banks held a crucial role in the criminal enterprise, laundering the illicit profits and acting as the UK-based facilitator for the multi-million pound drug importations.
“The drugs, had they reached their final destination, would have had a destructive impact on our communities, fuelling violence and exploiting vulnerable people throughout the supply chain.”
Banks pleaded guilty to a total of seven charges on 3 February, including importing class A drugs and money laundering. Judge Taylor told her that when she began a relationship with Burton “for whatever reason you both immersed yourselves in serious cross-border criminality”.
Burton subsequently pleaded guilty to four counts of importing class A and B drugs. His sentencing was repeatedly delayed because he handed a letter to the judge during his February appearance and claimed he had been ordered to go abroad to pay off a debt. The court heard that Burton wrote: “There were things I could have done differently but threats against life were made towards my family.”
After reading the letter the judge said “there are threats of modern slavery going through the letter…if the defendant maintains that, we need to think what we want to do with it. It’s not as simple as simply abandoning it”. The court heard Burton was “an important cog in a bigger wheel” and all counsel were reluctant to move ahead with sentencing until the full facts were established.
Judge Taylor told Burton in February that he was “not prepared to take the risk” and adjourned sentencing. Burton shouted he had “lied in the letter” and added: “It’s going to be the same outcome regardless” as he was led to the cells.