UPDATE: |The husband-and-wife team who couldn’t stop themselves News

The story of Richard Brookhouse and his wife Diane’s downfall in a look back at major cases from the North West’s criminal past

A notorious drugs kingpin orchestrated a £100m cocaine trafficking empire from behind bars during his day release, while his wife lavishly spent their ill-gotten gains on Botox and expensive hair salon treatments.

Richard Brookhouse, who was already serving a 22-year sentence for drug importation, masterminded a new scheme to flood the UK with large amounts of cocaine and heroin while on day release from jail.

The Warrington-born criminal, who was in prison at HMP Kirkham, would meet with drug gangs from Manchester and Liverpool to plan the distribution of premium class A drugs.

Authorities believe that the group may have smuggled around half a ton of pure cocaine into the country, using minions to transport sealed drug packages from France under the guise of coach fishing trips.

The operation was very much a family business, with Brookhouse’s wife Diane acting as his “business assistant” and enjoying a lavish lifestyle funded by her husband’s criminal enterprise, indulging in Botox, fillers, and costly haircuts.

Detectives, part of the former regional organised crime unit for the north west, grew suspicious of Brookhouse’s involvement and it was in April 2013, following a significant drug seizure, that they were able to capture the key figures involved.

In an series delving into the North West’s criminal past, the Liverpool Echo looks back on the gang and their downfall.

Met up with Manchester gangs on day release

Having been initially imprisoned for 22 years in 2003 for drug-related crimes, Brookhouse had convinced authorities of his rehabilitation by 2012 through volunteering at a charity shop. He was granted extra days and weekends at home with his wife under day release, but used his freedom to meet with drug gangs in Liverpool and Manchester.

In 2012, a police operation codenamed Redbank was initiated following a tip-off that Brookhouse had been meeting with drug dealers across the North West, specifically Carl Wall, the 1996 ABA boxing champion, and Andrew Wilde, from Manchester.

Brookhouse was characterised as a “lifestyle drug dealer” who sought to re-establish himself as a key figure in the drug trade while on day release from prison.

According to Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, head of operations at Titan, “He didn’t have the opportunity to live a lavish lifestyle because he was in prison, but he was trying to set himself up for the future.

“One of the things you get from having a 22-year drug importation conviction in the criminal world is a bit of respect. Clearly, Richard Brookhouse used that to his advantage and that’s why he was so respected by these gang members.”

Brookhouse was identified as the mastermind behind the conspiracy, orchestrating the use of his criminal connections to enlist drivers and couriers for transporting drugs from overseas and throughout the North West on behalf of major drug wholesalers.

He reportedly had “highest level” contacts that were leveraged to “source” shipments for Wall’s wholesale segment of the operation.

The other gang members and fishing trips

Wall, who was an ex-champion boxer known for his ‘fearsome reputation’, was himself a suspected major criminal who had previously been imprisoned in 2009 for four years following threats to kill after £100,000 worth of his cannabis disappeared.

Detective Superintendent Hudson added: “Wall was a talented boxer but we had suspected him of being involved in organised crime for some time.

“He was very high up in this crime gang and had a pretty fearsome reputation”. It was evident from Wall’s financials that his wealth was derived from criminal activities.

He owned four companies that seemed to generate no income, and a fifth company, South Liverpool Cars Ltd, went into receivership after just four years. Despite declaring a maximum income of just over £11,500 to the tax authorities over three years, he managed to amass an £850,000 property portfolio, finance several luxury vehicles including a top-of-the-range Mercedes, and afford private schooling for his child.

A phone seized by the police revealed Wall bragging about having £170,000 available to purchase a taxi company.

Other gang members included Gerrard Mooney, Darren Williams and Karl Glennon.

Mooney was a significant dealer who dealt in large quantities of imported drugs. His lucrative business was evident when he was arrested at the Grand National sporting a £5,000 Rolex Oyster watch.

When questioned by the police, Williams claimed his income came from selling counterfeit clothes and the profits from two sun-bed shops. However, prosecutors later described him as a “trusted and well established dealer in import quality class A controlled drugs”.

In March 2013, some of the group were spotted meeting with father and son duo Paul and Steven Harwood, who served as drug couriers. The police reported that the pair travelled to France under the pretence of a fishing trip.

They were seen transferring four holdalls filled with drugs from a coach to a Ford Transit van they had left parked in Essex.

The police discovered 78kg of cocaine and 2 kilos of heroin, along with a sample of the party drug Mcat. The total value of the haul was over £15m on the Merseyside streets.

It was revealed that the pair had booked a coach trip to a popular fishing spot in northern France, where they would receive drugs from a German contact and smuggle them back to England hidden amongst their fishing gear.

Neil Flewitt KC, prosecuting, said: “Once they [Titan] had identified the route being used by the conspirators, the police reviewed the surveillance evidence together with all the available telephone data and soon realised that all of the trips followed the same pattern.”

“The fishing trips used by the conspirators to disguise their importation of controlled drugs were organised by a company called Dreamlakes, which provided fishing holidays in a small French town called Orconte.”

A total of seven such trips were made, each suspected of transporting at least 60 kilos of narcotics. Detectives estimate that this smuggling ruse might have brought up to 500kg of cocaine into the UK, potentially having a street value exceeding £100m.

Wife lived life of luxury while also receiving benefits

Brookhouse’s wife, Diane, also enjoyed the life on her husband’s illegal earnings while also receiving welfare benefits. At her husband’s trial, it was disclosed she visited a high-end Toni and Guy salon 16 times within a year and indulged in luxury treatments including Botox and cosmetic surgery.

She was living the high life with two iPhones on £80 monthly contracts, flaunting thick wads of cash, and upon her arrest, she had a receipt for a lavish £1,215 Chloe designer handbag.

Despite denying any knowledge of her husband’s crimes, prosecutors argued that she played the role of his criminal aide, picking him up from prison during day release and driving him to rendezvous points to meet with dealers.

At her trial, Mr Flewitt pointed out: “While her husband was in prison Diane Brookhouse was reliant on state benefits to support herself and her two children.

“However, enquiries have revealed that she was able to make a substantial cash deposit on her rented property, to maintain the rental payments on the property, which exceeded the amount that she received by way of housing benefit and to run expensive cars – a Mercedes CLC 180 Sport and a VW Golf convertible.”

Detective Superintendent Hudson remarked after the case: “Clearly when her husband was active she was quite happy to live off the proceeds of crime and was probably hoping she could get back to that lifestyle once he got out of prison. It’s equally important for us to tackle people who assist organised criminals as the criminals themselves.”

Labelled ‘the sorcerer and the apprentice’ among their co-conspirators, police clamped down hard, apprehending all the key members involved in the gang’s operations. Their probe also unravelled connections to a notorious drug lord, already notorious and released on licence from a hefty 14-year sentence for earlier offences, who found himself entangled in the Brookhouse scheme.

Paul Hannon, previously convicted for a £17m drug operation, was found to be the mastermind behind a new conspiracy to supply high-grade heroin. Alongside his right-hand man Christopher Brown, he ran an operation that brought at least 24kg of high-purity class A drugs into Merseyside from abroad.

The pair were dubbed “the sorcerer and the apprentice” by detectives. Their scheme was foiled when they were seen meeting with Brookhouse and subsequently arrested at Park Lane caravan park in Meols, where Brown’s mother resided.

Eight kilos of premium heroin, worth £500,000 on the street, was discovered in the boot of a Corsa, packaged in a parcel labelled “fragile”. Hannon, characterised as a “very experienced drugs trafficker”, received a 14-year prison sentence, while Brown was sentenced to 10 years and eight months.

All involved pleaded guilty to drugs offences, except for Diane Brookhouse, who was convicted following a trial. Brookhouse, formerly of HMP Kirkham, was given a 20-year sentence, while his wife, from Coronation Avenue in Warrington, received a 14-year sentence.

Wall, formerly of Poplar Close in Halewood, was sentenced to 21 years; Wilde, from Wood Lane in Manchester, received a 15-year sentence; Gerrard Mooney, from Denstone Avenue in Aintree, was jailed for 15 years; Karl Glennon, from Bradfield Road in Manchester, was sentenced to 12 years; and Darren Williams, from Crompton Drive in West Derby, was given a nine-year sentence.

Paul Harwood, residing on Woodsend Road in Urmston, received a 12-year prison sentence, while his son Steven was given an eight-year term. In total, the collective sentences for the entire gang amounted to a staggering 247 years.

Following his incarceration, Brookhouse faced a proceeds of crime application enforced by the Crown Prosecution Service. It was determined that £450,000 of his estimated £21m wealth was “collectable”.