In the quiet of an April morning in 2023, undercover officers observed a woman loading boxes into a rental vehicle within a retail park close to Harwich port in Essex. They had received a tip about this vehicle, which had made its way from Islington that very evening.

The car headed towards Ipswich, where the woman transferred a substantial laundry bag to a man who remained unidentified. She appeared to be an unlikely candidate for involvement in a drug transaction; her defense attorney noted that she “was undoubtedly chosen because she was not the type to raise suspicion.”

The woman in question was Deborah Mason, also known informally to her family as Gangsta Debbs or Queen Bee. As a grandmother and the head of a crime syndicate operating throughout southeast England, she had enlisted her four children, her sister, and other close associates in a scheme to distribute cocaine nationwide, funding an extravagant lifestyle that included luxury Gucci items for her cat and a £192 Bugatti kettle.

On Friday, the 65-year-old was sentenced to two decades in prison for conspiracy to distribute Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court. Other members of the gang were sentenced to terms ranging from 10 to 15 years for similar offenses.

The Metropolitan Police surveilled Mason for a span of seven months following that day in Harwich, tracking her family-oriented gang as they executed cocaine and Class A drug pick-ups at various ports, primarily Harwich, but also including Folkestone and Dover.

The operations typically followed a familiar pattern; tightly bundled packages of cocaine would be collected, sorted into supermarket bags for life, and then passed on to the next link in the chain.

Law enforcement witnessed the gang making deliveries in locations such as south London, Cardiff, Bristol, Sheffield, Rotherham, Manchester, Bradford, Southend, Leicester, and Walsall. One individual apprehended in Leicester shortly after a delivery was found carrying 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of cocaine. Other missions included retrieving what the gang referred to as their “wages.”

The prosecution stated that the total value of the drugs managed by the gang was estimated between £25 million and £30 million wholesale, with a potential street value reaching up to £80 million, as presented during the sentencing hearing.

The court heard that the gang utilized pseudonyms to communicate internally and with their supplier, dubbed “Bugsy,” via the encrypted messaging application Signal. Mason shared a close connection with “Bugsy” and even vacationed with him in Dubai and Bahrain in October 2023.

Throughout the seven-month investigation, Mason executed 20 trips, transporting at least 356 kilograms of cocaine along with the collection and delivery of cash.

Judge Philip Shorrock described Mason as having a “central role” in the operations, equating her position to that of “the site foreman under a project manager.” He remarked, “As a mother, you should have set a positive example for your children instead of leading them astray.”

The court was informed that while Mason did not purchase drugs directly, she was heavily involved in orchestrating large-scale transactions. Prosecutor Charlotte Hole highlighted that she coordinated drivers for her operations, maintaining contact from the early hours to ensure they were ready and checking in throughout the day.

Mason’s actions were driven by financial gain, and police revealed she had indulged in lavish spending, including on high-end fashion, bags, and accessories. This included a £390 Gucci collar and lead, as well as a nine-carat gold name tag for her Bengal cat, Ghost.

When apprehended, footage captured her being handcuffed in her bathroom beside a designer DKNY towel. Simultaneously, during the ongoing conspiracy, Mason had received £50,000 in benefits, as stated by Ms. Hole.

Mason had shown interest in traveling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery and took a cut from what her accomplices earned, the court was informed. She arranged trips with her sister to destinations such as Cornwall, Malta, Prague, and Poland and even took her daughters to Dubai, where they managed UK operations via FaceTime.

Mason, whose contact was saved in her children’s phones under “Queen Bee,” involved her three daughters, her son, and two of their partners in the conspiracy. All are now facing extended prison terms. A friend, Anita Slaughter, 44, was also sentenced.

Her son, Reggie Bright, 24, delivered a minimum of 90 kilograms of cocaine over a dozen trips, often accompanied by his partner, Demi Kendall, 31, or his sister Lillie Bright, 27, along with their mother.

“He operated under the Signal alias ‘Frank’ and was directly connected to the upstream supplier,” Ms. Hole noted, adding that the gang received approximately £1,000 for each trip facilitated by Mason.

Additionally, Reggie Bright and Demi Kendall were discovered operating their own independent drug line from their Kent caravans, violating a previous suspended sentence for drug-related offenses.

The prosecution indicated that Mason’s eldest daughter, Demi Bright, played a crucial role in the transactions, delivering around 60 kilograms of cocaine, but she was less involved than other family members due to her other sources of income.

Mason’s other daughters, Roseanne Mason and Lillie Bright, also faced convictions. Roseanne Mason, 30, participated in seven identified trips to areas like Bradford and Manchester. Lillie Bright made 20 identified trips, and the court noted her “clear expectation of substantial financial gain.”

Lillie Bright involved her partner, Chloe Hodgkin, who will receive sentencing at a later date following the birth of her child.

In mitigation, defense attorneys argued that those involved were “expendable” compared to the larger drug operation and that most of the offspring served as “couriers” traveling across the UK.

Specialist prosecutor Robert Hutchinson remarked, “This is no ordinary family.” “Rather than nurturing and caring for her relatives, Deborah Mason enlisted them to create a highly lucrative criminal enterprise that would ultimately lead to their incarceration.”

Ms. Hole clarified that there was no evidence suggesting coercion or pressure on any of the participants to join the conspiracy, all motivated by the prospect of financial reward.

The defendants received the following sentences: