A drug gang that shipped over 70kg of cocaine across the South West has been jailed. A 12-week trial at Winchester Crown Court heard how the gang operated for more than four years, bringing huge quantities of cocaine into the region. The eight people involved, from Wiltshire, Bristol and Albania, have now been put behind bars for a combined total of 82 years.
The gang was led by brothers Warren Allison, 36, and 41-year-old Kelroy Allison. They ran the operation for four-and-a-half years, supplying around £7m worth of cocaine across the region.
Richard Cowell, 57, was recruited as a trusted driver. He used a specially modified vehicle provided by the Allison brothers, containing a purpose-built compartment used to covertly and securely courier huge quantities of Class A drugs and cash across the South West.
Cowell used an EncroChat phone with the handle name SouthKangaroo. During the trial, he also admitted couriering cash and drugs on behalf of other organised crime groups.
Meanwhile, Porcia Densley, 38, acted as the gang’s finance manager. The court heard how she was in a romantic relationship with Warren Allison and her role allowed him to run the drug business smoothly.
She delivered and collected cash from customers and couriers, transferring money to various people on Warren’s instruction. She also managed the vast amount of cash generated as part of their drug operation.
Big cocaine deal watched by officers
On November 3, 2020, Warren Allison was involved in the dealing of 4kg of cocaine at Ronayne Walk in Bristol. The cocaine was supplied by Albanian nationals Ledian Hoxha, 38, and 37-year-old Pjeter Pisha.
Warren acted as a broker for the deal, and arranged the cocaine to be delivered to his cousin, 34-year-old Anthony Burke. The drugs had a street value of £320,000 to £400,000.
Police surveillance officers captured the moment the drugs were delivered to Burke. The officers then forced entry to the address and arrested Burke. They found the cocaine inside a bag for life.
Enid Aliko, 28, provided an encrypted SKY ECC device to help with the drugs supply. He also acted as a conduit for the Albanian crime group and South West England drugs suppliers following the arrests.
Albanians flee the UK after arrests
After the drugs were seized, members of the group, including Hoxha and Pisha, fled the UK in an attempt to evade arrest. However, they were arrested following an extensive police operation.
The force used covert tactics, including surveillance, to uncover the scale of the offending. They were able to identify other people involved in the Allison brothers’ criminality.
Investigating officers forensically examining thousands of documents, phone reports and telecoms data. This allowed them to draw connections between the Allison brothers and their multi-million-pound cocaine operation.
The National Crime Agency helped to access the highly encrypted SKY ECC communication devices used by the gang. This revealed the level of disruption and panic that had been caused by the shutdown of the EncroChat network by French law enforcement in June 2020.
Evidence was also obtained following the execution of a warrant obtained by Chippenham Neighbourhood Policing team in 2021 at the home address of Kelroy Allison. His mobile phones were found to contain years of drugs ledgers, and evidence of drugs trafficking going back to January 2016.
Brothers claimed they were dealing clothes not cocaine
During the trial, the Allison brothers and Richard Cowell claimed that the messages and evidence were referring to counterfeit clothing rather than cocaine. They also claimed that it was a delivery of clothing that they were expecting to be delivered to Anthony Burke on November 3, 2020.
Following the trial, the Allison brothers, Cowell, Burke and Densley were found guilty. Aliko, Pisha and Hoxha had previously pleaded guilty to count two. The eight defendants were sentenced yesterday (Thursday, February 6):
- Warren Allison, 36, of Sherford Road, Haydon Wick, Swindon, for two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 23 YEARS
- Kelroy Allison, 41 of Moyle Park, Hilperton, for one count of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 16.5 YEARS
- Richard Cowell, 57, of Godolphin Close, Freshbrook, for one count of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 9 YEARS
- Porcia Densley, 38, of Burnet Close, Melksham, for one count of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 8 YEARS
- Anthony Burke, 34, of Pennyroyal Grove, Bristol, for one count of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 8 YEARS
- Ledian Hoxha, 38, for one count of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 7 YEARS 4 MONTHS
- Pjeter Pisha, 37, for one count of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 6 YEARS 8 MONTHS
- Enid Aliko, 28, for one count of conspiracy to supply cocaine: 4 YEARS
Ringleader bought Lamborghini Huracan with dirty money
Investigating officer DC Matthew Harvey of SOCU said: “This investigation has systematically broken up a significant operation which was dealing huge amounts of cocaine across not just Wiltshire but the South West and beyond.
“The drugs that the Allison brothers, aided by Cowell and Densley, dealt between 2016 and 2020 will have contributed to the social, health and economic impact that cocaine has in the country, such as the associated issues of anti-social behaviour, drug-related violence and acquisitive crime.
“There is also the considerable violence and exploitation which takes place along the supply chain. The ringleader behind the organised crime group, Warren Allison, has now been sentenced to more than two decades’ imprisonment, while his brother Kelroy has been jailed for more than 16 years.
“Their wider associates have also been jailed for several years. Intelligence from this operation enabled numerous other targeted arrests, operations and disruptions to be made to many other organised criminals across our region with whom the Allison brothers had been criminally associating with.
“I hope these sentences show that those involved in organised criminal activity are not untouchable or above the law – there are dedicated teams targeting these individuals, and they can be brought to justice. I want to highlight the importance of community intelligence in cracking a case like this.
“We know that Warren purchased numerous high-value vehicles, including a Lamborghini Huracan, Mercedes C63 AMG and an Audi RS6, with his ill-gotten gains. These extravagant displays of wealth do not go unnoticed by the public, nor the police. If there’s anything which you think could be suspicious, please report it. Any piece of intelligence could be vital.”