Overview
- Newcastle upon Tyne Crown Court sentenced Shaun Monaghan and four associates for conspiracies to supply Class A drugs and to possess prohibited firearms and ammunition.
- The five received a combined 57 years and four months in prison, with individual terms ranging from six years to 27 years.
- Prosecutors evidenced purchases exceeding 51kg of cocaine, 19kg of heroin and 200kg of amphetamine, with about £1.3m sent to one supplier in April 2020.
- April 2020 searches in Newcastle recovered two semi-automatic handguns, two semi-automatic rifles, a hand grenade, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and 2.5kg of cocaine.
- Simon Lancaster, who returned to the UK in July 2025 after detentions in the UAE and Oman, will be sentenced next month, while Monaghan was previously detained in Istanbul and deported.