Ringleader of £20 million drugs gang jailed for 14 years

The head of a sophisticated drugs network responsible for distributing over 165 kilograms of cocaine across the southeast of England has been jailed for 14 years after being extradited from Thailand.

Ben Ransome, 29, of Wickford, Essex, was sentenced today at Basildon Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

The court heard how Ransome directed the network from his base in Wickford, coordinating the large-scale supply of cocaine and ketamine between July 2021 and May 2022 using drugs couriers.  This included more than 208 kilograms of cocaine and 25 kilograms of ketamine with a total street value exceeding £20 million.

In March 2022, as the investigation intensified, Ransome fled to Spain. Later when his associates began to be arrested in spring 2022, he moved to Thailand, presumably believing it would be harder to secure his extradition from there.

However, through collaboration between the Crown Prosecution Service, the National Crime Agency, the Home Office and Thai authorities, Ransome was arrested and returned to Britain to face justice.

Thomas Short from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Far from a low-level dealer, Ransome was a sophisticated and organised criminal who directed the operation from the top and distributed an industrial amount of Class A drugs to be sold onwards.

“This prosecution represents the final stage in the dismantling of a dangerous criminal network which played a crucial part in the drugs supply chain – a result which has come about through close working between investigators Essex Police and the CPS.

"Ransome thought he could evade justice by leaving the country, but he underestimated the determination of law enforcement and prosecutors to return him to the UK.

“His extradition was secured by the CPS with assistance from the Home Office, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the NCA international team and the Thai authorities, to whom we are grateful for putting the request before their courts.”

Building the case

The prosecution case demonstrated that Ransome used multiple couriers to transport multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine across the country, whilst he directed operations remotely to avoid detection.  Ransome paid his couriers substantial sums – up to £1,200 per day.

During the operation, police seized significant quantities of drugs from Ransome's associates - Charles Lancaster, Kieran Grant, Russell Dendle and Tye Cook.

Extensive phone evidence showed Ransome directing operations from the UK and then from Spain, using encrypted messaging apps.

Communications data and surveillance evidence revealed the sophisticated nature of the network, with couriers making collections and deliveries across the country whilst Ransome coordinated from a distance.

Phone evidence also showed the network regularly changed phone numbers to evade law enforcement.

Ransome’s sentencing follows the jailing of Dendle, Grant, Cook and Lancaster for drugs offences:

• Dendle was sentenced to 12 years in June 2024
• Grant was sentenced to eight years in January 2023
• Cook was sentenced to six years and nine months in January 2023
• Lancaster was sentenced to six years in May 2022.