A group of drug traffickers was caught after a member sent a photo of his dog, leading to their downfall and hefty prison sentences.
Bromley: So, here’s the scoop. A couple of guys, Stefan Baldauf and Philip Lawson, got caught up in a big drug trafficking mess. They were part of a crime group that was taken down after the NCA cracked the encrypted messaging app EncroChat back in 2020.
These guys had a wild plan to ship 448kg of amphetamines worth a whopping £45 million to Australia. They were going to hide the drugs in an excavator. But things went sideways when one of the members, Danny Brown, sent Baldauf a cute pic of his French bulldog, Bob. The photo had his partner’s phone number on it, and that’s what led the cops right to them.
Investigators zoomed in on that number and connected the dots to prove Brown was in on the whole scheme. Baldauf, who lives in Ealing, even sent a selfie that showed his reflection in a door sign. Talk about careless!
Fast forward to Monday at Kingston Crown Court, Baldauf got slapped with a 28-year prison sentence and was ordered to cough up over a million pounds. If he doesn’t pay up in three months, he’ll get an extra seven years behind bars.
Lawson, the guy who came up with the hiding spot for the drugs, got 23 years and has to pay nearly £200,000. He’s also on a tight deadline to pay or face more jail time.
Brown, who got 26 years, will have a hearing later this year, along with another member, William Sartin, who also got 23 years. The NCA found the excavator stashed in Sartin’s industrial unit.
Chris Hill from the NCA said these criminals didn’t care about the harm they were causing. They were just in it for the money. Now, they’re feeling the financial hit, which is a big part of showing other criminals that the consequences don’t stop when they go to jail.
The NCA is working hard to keep the public safe from illegal drugs, both at home and abroad.
