CCTV caught Christopher Paul Chambers making the ‘return’ with the drugs wrapped in an orange hi-vis jacket to courier Bradley Mark Sinclair in the Stanley area in 2020.
The meeting was captured as part of an ongoing investigation into Chambers who regularly exchanged encrypted messages on the EncroChat network using the handle Magentariver.
Unbeknown to him, intelligence officers managed to uncover the information from his conversations afterwards as part of Operation Venetic which showed he had been importing several kilograms of cocaine from the North West.
The intelligence suggested around 6kg of cocaine with a potential street value of £600,000 had been supplied through criminal activities.
Chambers would send messages from his handle to another in the North West who then orchestrated the meetings between the pair.
To the officers’ surprise, this particular meeting was made because Chambers had been unhappy with the quality of the alleged cocaine and was granted a refund.
As the Durham investigation took shape, Sinclair was also caught with £223,870 in cash in his car in the Cambridge area.
Chambers, of Preston, and Sinclair, of South Shields, were both later charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Sinclair, 44, was also charged with being in possession of criminal property after being found with the cash.
Sinclair pleaded guilty at Durham Crown Court on June 20, and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for being concerned in the supply of the drugs and a further two years in for being in possession of the drugs.
Chambers, 31, failed to appear at his trial but was found guilty in his absence and sentenced to 15 years in prison. A warrant has now been issued for his arrest.
Detective Inspector Amanda Howe, of Durham Constabulary, said: “Drugs have a detrimental impact upon our communities and we will always do everything in our power to stop and disrupt those supplying and dealing these substances.
“This type of activity will continue under the banner of Operation Sentinel – a partnership initiative targeting serious and organised crime across the region.”
