Overview

• Border Force intercepted two lorries at Dover in July and August 2022 carrying about 192 kg of cocaine, 25 kg of heroin and 90 kg of ketamine, valued at roughly £20 million.
• Forensic analysis linked Burton’s DNA and fingerprints to drug packages and found Banks’ DNA on some of the wrapping.
• Sian Banks pleaded guilty in February to multiple offences, including importing class A drugs and money laundering, and was sentenced to five years.
• Burton was arrested at Ibiza’s Pacha nightclub under an alias, extradited to Germany on drug charges and returned to the UK by specialist NCA officers in March 2024.
• Investigators said the drugs were vacuum‑packed in an Amsterdam flat and concealed in part in a modified fuel tank, with the NCA warning of the harm the consignments would have caused.