WATCH: Drugs baron Curtis Warren arrested just seven months after release

Wednesday 05 July 2023

The gangster known as ‘Britain’s Pablo Escobar’ – who once tried to smuggle drugs worth more than £1m into Jersey – has been arrested just seven months after his release from prison.

Curtis Warren has been arrested for allegedly breaching the terms of his Serious Crime Prevention Order which came into force when he was released from prison after 14 years in November last year.

Warren – who was once listed on the Sunday Times Rich List, having amassed a fortune estimated at £300 million – was allegedly detained at a location in Boldon Colliery, South Tyneside this morning.

The National Crime Agency said a 60-year-old man from Liverpool was arrested just before 06:00 on Wednesday morning on suspicion of multiple breaches of a Serious Crime Prevention Order.

NCA officers have arrested a 60-year-old man from Liverpool on suspicion of breaching his Serious Crime Prevention Order.

He was detained at a location in South Tyneside, just before 6am this morning and is now being questioned.

Full story ⬇️ https://t.co/IuWLHamMqD pic.twitter.com/fmk5ShhmDD

— National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) July 5, 2023

The force did not name the suspect but both The Mirror and The Telegraph have reported that it is Warren, who was released from maximum security Whitemore prison in Cambridgeshire in 2022 after 14 years behind bars.

Following his release, Warren faced a tough set of restrictions imposed by the National Crime Agency in order to prevent him from re-entering the world of crime – among them were strict travel restrictions, and bans on using WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, handling cash of £1,000 of more and dabbling in cryptocurrency. 

However, he is currently being questioned in custody over alleged breaches of these restrictions, which the NCA said “relate to the unauthorised use of mobile phones, vehicles, bank accounts and travel”.

NCA officers also carried out searches at the location in Boldon and another address in the Royal Albert Dock area of Liverpool.

A spokesperson told the Mirror that mobile devices, documents and a quantity of cash were seized, and they are now being examined by investigators.

The operation was supported by Merseyside Police and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Warren’s former barrister Anthony Barraclough confirmed to the Mirror Warren was the man arrested, even though he was not named by the NCA.

Mr Barraclough, who is retained by Warren’s firm of solicitors to provide advice and has represented Warren in previous trials in other countries, said: “I can confirm that he was arrested at 06:00 this morning. Any breaches will be minor transgressions.

“These will be very fine interpretations of restrictions I anticipate. I imagine he was in Tyneside to visit friends.

“He is allowed to travel and have mobile phones, bank accounts and up to £1,000 in cash. He can travel abroad if he gives seven days notice. If he is going to be away from home he needs permission and he has had permission.

“I have not spoken to him yet as he is in custody.”

Breaches of a Serious Crime Prevention Order can result in up to five years behind bars, an unlimited fine, or both.

When Warren was released last year, his barrister said that he now only wanted “peace and quiet”.

“The first thing he wanted to do was to see his mother… He is allowed to have a decent, ordinary life,” Mr Barraclough told the Sun in November 2022.

Pictured: The case of Curtis Warren was one of the most high profile to reach Jersey's Royal Court.

Curtis Warren is reportedly the only criminal to ever make the Sunday Times Rich List who left his native Liverpool to become an international cocaine smuggler.

But in 2009 a jury in Jersey found him guilty of being involved in a plot to smuggle £1m worth of cannabis into the island and he was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.

In 2013, the Royal Court ordered Mr Warren to pay £198m after the drug dealer failed to prove he had not earned that sum in a lifetime of high-level criminality. He failed to provide the funds so was given a default sentence of ten years in prison, of which he had to serve at least half. Warren appealed the sentence, but lost.

Warren’s trial in Jersey was one of the highest profile cases to be heard in the Royal Court. Amid tight security, which included rooftop marksmen, he was found guilty, along with five other men, including two from Jersey.

Last year, it was reported that British director Guy Ritchie had asked Warren’s legal team about making a film about the gangster.

This year, ahead of his release, his life story was serialised in the form of a podcast by the BBC.