Two drug lords were caught smuggling MDMA into Australia, thanks to a photo of a dog that led to their downfall
London: So, get this! Two guys, Stefan Baldauf and Philip Lawson, thought they could pull off a massive drug deal, trying to smuggle nearly half a tonne of MDMA into Australia. Crazy, right?
They were part of a crime group, and the drugs were worth a whopping £44 million. But their plan went south when one of their buddies, Danny Brown, sent Baldauf a cute pic of his French bulldog, Bob. The dog’s tag had his partner’s number on it, and that’s how they got caught!
Investigators zoomed in on that number and linked it back to Brown, who lives in Bromley. Baldauf, from Ealing, even sent a selfie that showed his reflection in a door sign. Talk about bad luck!
In court, Baldauf got slapped with a 28-year sentence and was ordered to cough up over a million pounds. If he doesn’t pay up in three months, he’ll face an extra seven years in jail. Lawson, who was the mastermind behind hiding the drugs, got 23 years and has to pay £182,476.
Brown, who got 26 years, will have his own hearing later. The money they owe will go towards fighting crime, which is a nice touch.
Chris Hill from the NCA said these guys didn’t care about the harm their drugs caused. They were just in it for the cash. This whole situation shows that even when they’re behind bars, the consequences keep coming.
