Drugs kingpin carried on operating his enterprise in Nottingham whereas on the run from the police and residing a lifetime of luxurious in Thailand

A drugs kingpin who ran his network from Thailand while living the high life has been jailed for 14 years.

Vejay Samuels flew to the other side of the world in a bid to escape police and avoid prison – but was arrested on his birthday after he returned to the UK.

The 30-year-old and his crew flooded the streets of Nottingham with cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis over a 15-month period, including several months in 2023 when Samuels remained in charge of the gang while on the run in Thailand.

He spent eight months in the country living a life of luxury with his girlfriend, Hannah Cwynar, with the duo splashing the cash on an array of fancy apartments and expensive activities.

Samuels – pictured in a sailor’s hat at the helm of a pleasure craft and in water beside an elephant while on the run 6,000 miles away – was able to gain access to the gang’s ill-gotten gains while remaining undetected. 

A judge was told the funds were sent on to him via the bank accounts of hairdresser Cwynar, 33, and his ex-partner, Charlotte Franklyn.

They were given suspended sentences at Nottingham Crown Court, two of a dozen people rounded up by Nottinghamshire Police over their roles in the enterprise.

Using two dedicated drugs phone lines, the court heard the group peddled Class A and Class B drugs they’d sourced from Yorkshire across Nottingham between August 2022 and November 2023.

Nottinghamshire Police said its first success in the investigation into the network came when officers police pulled over a car containing Jake Worrall and Gary Castledine in April 2023.

The duo were arrested when large quantities of crack cocaine were discovered on board, while the fingerprints of Lyndon Wilson were found on the drugs when they were forensically tested.

Wilson had access to bulk quantities of Class A and Class B drugs, some of which was found by police inside his Top Valley, Nottingham, home when they executed a warrant in September 2023.

Another key player to be identified was Andrew Mitchell, whose job was to regularly travel to Huddersfield and Bradford to collect bulk quantities of drugs and bring them back to Nottingham for the group to sell.

He controlled street dealer Sophie Goodwin, who made at least two sorties to Huddersfield to collect drugs to be sold on.

When police examined her phone records they discovered her to be a prolific cocaine dealer, sending advertisement messages almost weekly between December 2022 and her arrest in October 2023.

A court heard fingerprints belonging to Mitchell, Wilson and Samuels were all found on items seized during the raid at Wilson’s home in September 2023 – evidence that would contribute to each later admitting their roles within the conspiracy.

Police had by that stage already got their hands on the two drugs phone lines used by the group to sell their product, after seizing it from crew member Joseph Gavin while executing a warrant at his home in Bulwell, Nottingham.

Faced with the mounting evidence and the strength of the case against them, Samuels and eight of his associates all pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs.

Cwynar admitted to money laundering on behalf of Samuels.

Damien Bohan and Franklyn, 30, were the only two of the 12 defendants to dispute their roles, with Bohan denying the drugs conspiracy charges and Franklyn denying the money laundering charge.

Following a trial, which concluded on June 17, a jury found Bohan and Franklyn guilty of their respective offences.

Eleven of the defendants returned to Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing this week – and received a combined 84 years in prison.

Samuels, of Top Valley, Nottingham, was sentenced to 14 years, while Mitchell, 54, also of Top Valley, received an 11-year term.

Gavin, 30, Radford, Nottingham, was sentenced to 10 years in prison while Worrall, 30, of Bestwood, Nottingham, was jailed for 12 years,

Dale Mitchell, 31, of Nottingham, received a five year prison sentence and Goodwin, 41, of Bestwood, was sentenced to seven years behind bars.

Castledine, 59, of West Bridgford, Nottingham, was jailed for eight years. 

Francesca Calamiello, 45, and Bohan, 44, both from Top Valley, received nine year and eight year prison terms respectively.

Cwynar, of Derby, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years. She will also have to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Franklyn, of Bestwood, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years. She will also have to complete 80 hours of unpaid work

Wilson, 38, of Top Valley, will remain in custody until his own separate sentencing hearing at the same court in January.

Detective Constable Emma Grimley, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: ‘This was an organised group that conspired together to distribute large amounts of controlled drugs across the Nottingham area for a lengthy period of time.

‘While this was going on, those at the top of the group – namely ringleader Vejay Samuels – lived a life of luxury, using the proceeds raised by their drug dealing.

‘Thankfully, and after a lengthy police investigation, those responsible for flooding the streets of Nottingham with Class A and Class B drugs have now been brought to justice.’

Detective Constable Steve Fenyn, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit, added: ‘This investigation was somewhat challenging because shortly after it began, Vejay Samuels fled the country.

‘We had to gather the evidence to prove that he was running his drug dealing enterprise in the UK from Thailand, which we ultimately achieved by dismantling his organisation below him.

‘I’m very pleased with today’s outcome at court. Taking Vejay Samuels off the streets makes Nottingham a safer place for all.’