65-year-old grandma jailed for running a drug cartel in UK



Sunday, July 20, 2025 - A 65-year-old grandma described by police as a “gangster granny”, who orchestrated a family-run organised crime group, has been sentenced for dealing drugs with a street value of £80m across the UK. 

Deborah Mason, who had the nickname “Queen Bee”, and seven other members of the gang, were sentenced at Woolwich crown court in London on Friday, July 18, for their involvement in supplying nearly a tonne of cocaine over seven months. 

A group of couriers collected packages of imported cocaine and drove them across London as well as Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, between April and November 2023, the court heard. 

The drugs had an estimated wholesale value of between £23m and £35m and a street value of £80m. 

The ringleader spent her profits on designer goods and was looking to travel to Turkey to have cosmetic surgery, while young mothers who were part of the gang took their young children to pick-ups. 

Mason, who directed other members of the gang and was in contact with an upstream supplier called Bugsy, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 

Judge Shorrock told Mason: “You were effectively the site foreman working under the direction of a site manager. 

“You recruited members of your own family – as a mother you should have been setting an example for your children and not corrupting them.” 

Post a Comment

0 Comments