‘Gangster Debbs’: The grandmother who used her own family to manage a multimillioning drug empire

Deborah Mason was called “Gangster Debbs” and recruited his four children to distribute cocaine across the UK Metropolitan Police via BBC in an April 2023 dawn, disguised agents watched a woman carrying boxes in a rented car near Harwich port in Essex, England. They had received a warning about the car, which had left London the night before. The vehicle went to Ipswich in the east of the country, where the woman handed a heavy bag with dirty clothes to a stranger. The woman did not seem to be someone involved with drug trafficking. Her lawyer stated that “no doubt, she was chosen for being someone who would not draw attention.” This woman was Deborah Mason, known in her family as “Gangster Debbs”, or “Queen Bee”: grandmother and matriarch of a mobster family that worked in southeastern England. Mason had recruited his four children, his sister and others nearby to help her distribute cocaine across the country, funding a luxurious lifestyle that included Gucci brand accessories bought for her cat and a $ 1,400 $ 1,400 kettle. On July 18 this year, the 65 -year -old woman was sentenced to the London Court to 20 years in prison for drug supply. The rest of the gang received penalties ranging from 10 to 15 years in prison for the same crime. The eight accused of the gang: Tina Golding, Lillie Bright, Deborah Mason, Demi Kendall, Demi Bright, Anita Slaughr, Reggie Bright and Roseanne Mapolitan Police via BBC the collection of the London Metropolitan Police monitored Deborah Mason for seven months after that dawn in Harwich, while she and her and her and her Family gang made cocaine collections and other ports at the ports, especially Harwich, but also in Folkstone and Dover. The pattern was usually the same: they took well packaged cocaine packages, put them in supermarket bags and then handed them to the next person in the distribution chain. Police observed the gang to deliver in southern London and other cities in the United Kingdom, such as Cardiff, Bristol, Sheffield, Rotherham, Manchester, Bradford, Southend, Leicester and Walsall. A man, arrested by police in Leicester shortly after a delivery, was caught with 10 pounds of cocaine. Other trips were made to receive the “salary,” as they said. The gang was caught providing almost a ton of cocaine for seven years Metropolitan police via BBC in total, the gang -moved drug had a $ 30 and 40 million wholesale value (R $ 168 to R $ 220 million), with a value in the streets that could reach $ 110 million (R $ 615 million), according to the prosecution during a hearing. The court heard that the gang used codenames to communicate with each other and with its supplier – a man known only as “bugsy” – through the signal encrypted messaging app. Deborah Mason had a close relationship with “Bugsy” and even traveled on vacation with him to Dubai and Bahrain in October 2023. For seven months, “Gangster Debbs” made 20 trips carrying at least 356 pounds of cocaine, as well as delivering and collecting cash. Judge Philip Shorrock stated that she had a “command role” and described her as “the foreman of the work she worked under the orders of a project manager.” “As a mother, she should have given an example to her children, do not corrupt them,” he said. The court also heard that Mason did not buy drugs, but participated in the management of transactions involving several pounds of cocaine. Prosecutor Charlotte Hole stated: “She also organized drivers who worked for her, keeping contact by phone since dawn to ensure they were awake and monitoring them throughout the day.” Luxurious lifestyle The profit was the motivation and, according to police, Mason spent extravagantly on clothes, bags and designer accessories. Among these items were a 520 dollar gucci guide (R $ 2,900) for Ghost – his bengal cat – and a plate with the name of the animal recorded in gold from nine carats. When it was arrested, images showed Mason handcuffed in the bathroom next to a Dkny brand towel. While the conspiracy unfolded, “Gangster Debbs” received social benefits worth $ 65,000 ($ 360,000), Hole said in court. Mason “expressed the desire to go to Türkiye to do aesthetic procedures” and got “part of other people’s salary,” said the prosecutor. She also scheduled a holiday with her sister in Cornwares, Malta, Prague and Poland, and took her daughters to Dubai, where she continued to run the UK operations through video calls. ‘It is not an ordinary family’ Mason, whose number was saved on the phone of one of his children such as “Queen Bee”, involved in the plot his three daughters, his son, and their partners. Everyone is beginning to comply with prison convictions. A friend of Mason, Anita Slaugh, 44, was also convicted. Mason’s son, Reggie Bright, 24, delivered at least 90 pounds of cocaine on 12 trips, often accompanied by his partner, Demi Kendall, 31, by her sister, Lillie Bright, 27, as well as her own mother. “He wore the codename ‘Frank’ on signal and was clearly known and kept direct contact with the supplier,” Hole said, adding that Mason paid approximately $ 1,340 per trip ($ 7,500). According to the prosecutor, Reggie Bright and Demi Kendall were caught operating their own drug business from trailers in Kent, violating a previous sentence, imposed on trafficking -related crimes. “Gangster Debbs” purchases were luxury accessories for his cat, sports sneakers and a Bugatti BBC kettle The prosecution argued that Mason’s eldest daughter Demi Bright played an important role in operations, carrying about 60 pounds of cocaine, although not as active as other family members, as he had other sources of income. Mason’s other daughters, Roseanne Mason and Lillie Bright, were also declared guilty. Roseanne Mason, 30, participated in seven identified trips, including Bradford and Manchester. Lillie Bright made 20 trips, and the court heard that she had a “clear expectation of gaining a significant financial advantage.” Lillie Bright involved her partner, Chloe Hodgkin, who, according to a court, will be sentenced later, after the birth of her son. As a mitigating, each defense lawyer argued that everyone involved were “disposable” within the broader scheme of drug trafficking, and that most children were only “messengers” who made trips throughout the UK. This “was not an ordinary family,” said prosecutor Robert Hutchinson. “Instead of taking care and protecting their families, Deborah Mason recruited them to set up an extraordinarily profitable criminal organization that, ultimately, took everyone to prison.” Prosecutor Hole said no signs of pressure or coercion were found to participate in the conspiracy, and that everyone acted for profit. Detective Jack Kraushaar of the Metropolitan Police, who conducted the investigation, described Mason’s operation as “sophisticated” and said it was “extremely lucrative for those involved.” “The group was dragged on crime,” he said, “selfishly attracted to the financial gains of drug trafficking to support luxurious lifestyles.”

Source link