Watch: the moment a drug dealer police nicknamed 'Gangster Granny' is arrested
Deborah Mason, 65, the leader of the family-run group, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court on July 18.
Mason and seven other people - six women and one man - were sentenced to a total of 106 years and six months in prison for their involvement in supplying nearly a tonne of cocaine over seven months.
The group transported packages of imported cocaine and drove them around London, Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff between April 2023 and November 2023.
Footage shows Mason in disbelief that she was being arrested.
Arrested - Deborah Mason last year (Image: Metropolitan Police/PA)
Mug shot - Deborah Mason (Image: PA/Metropolitan Police) The Met Police's investigation saw officers receive information on April 20, 2023, that a hired car driven by Mason left her house in Crayford Road, Tufnell Park, London, at 4.30am and arrived at Harwich Port at 6.20am.
Police said regular trips were made by Mason to the port alongside the couriers to collect the cocaine.
The group used encrypted messaging site Signal to communicate. Officers trawled through thousands of messages following their arrests which helped prove their criminal movements.
Officers discovered through the messages that Mason - known as Queen Bee - was living an extravagant lifestyle with her profits, purchasing a Gucci collar and lead worth £400 for her cat.
During the crime group's operation, the drugs had an estimated wholesale value of between £23million to £35million and a street value of £80million.
The Metropolitan Police arrested all members of the gang in May 2024 except a woman called Anita Slaughter who was arrested in November 2024 after being identified from the messages.
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