Pink Cocaine Ring Busted: £11 Million Haul Bound for Australia

A Liverpool-based criminal gang has been apprehended and jailed for attempting to smuggle approximately £11 million worth of illicit drugs, including a substance known as 'pink cocaine', to Australia and New Zealand. The 'pink cocaine' itself was not actual cocaine but a dangerous mixture of MDMA, ketamine, and caffeine. The key figures in this extensive operation were Lee Brittles, 47, Teo Grbesic, 23, Ashley Armstrong, 32, and Karl Dalton, 45, all of whom have now received significant prison sentences.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) provided detailed accounts of the gang's various smuggling attempts. The initial significant interception occurred on October 10, 2024, when Brittles and Grbesic attempted to send 252.8kg of 'pink cocaine', distinguished by Pink Panther logos, via FedEx from Liverpool. The consignment, addressed to Castle Hill in Sydney, Australia, was cleverly hidden within an industrial bench cutting saw. However, a vigilant FedEx driver grew suspicious of the load and reported it to Border Force officers, who subsequently alerted the NCA. The seized drugs had an estimated street value of £11.3 million in the UK and $57 million in Australia.

Undeterred by the initial failure, Brittles and his accomplices made at least eight further attempts to export drugs to both Australia and New Zealand. These operations exploited fast parcel delivery systems, including through Manchester Airport. On February 12, 2025, Ashley Armstrong dropped off a cardboard box at a DHL collection point in Lancaster, falsely labeled as