A 65-year-old grandmother masterminded one of UK’s most sophisticated drug trafficking operations, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Deborah Mason, infamously nicknamed the “Queen Bee” and “Gangster Granny,” ran a sprawling family-led drugs cartel that trafficked more than a ton of cocaine worth up to £80 million across the country.Mason and seven of her relatives, including her sister and children, operated the high-level narcotics ring over a seven-month period from April to November 2023, reported The Guardian. On Friday, she was sentenced in a London courtroom alongside other key members of the syndicate.The court heard that Mason’s gang used a network of couriers to transport massive quantities of imported cocaine. The drugs were distributed from London to several major cities including Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol, and Cardiff.The cartel’s value of cocaine ranged between £23 million and £35 million, while its street value was estimated at a whopping £80 million. Despite the scale of the operation, prosecutors noted that Mason’s relatives were not coerced into joining the syndicate, but were instead “motivated by financial benefit.”Mason’s 29-year-old daughter, Roseanne Mason, played a crucial role in the cartel’s logistics. She was responsible for managing collections of the drug shipments. In a show of how deeply involved the family was, Roseanne even babysat the children of other couriers so they could continue working uninterrupted. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison for her part in the operation.Other members of the gang received lengthy prison terms as well, with sentences ranging from 13 to 15 years based on their individual roles in the criminal enterprise.The Metropolitan Police launched a thorough investigation into the drug ring, employing a range of surveillance tactics, including analysis of extensive call data and physical tracking of suspects. Acting on critical intelligence, most of the gang members were apprehended in May 2024.
