Overview

• Judge Simon Taylor KC sentenced Burton at Canterbury Crown Court following months of delays triggered by his letter alleging threats and modern‑slavery coercion.
• Ex‑partner Sian Banks received a five‑year term in February after admitting seven offences, with investigators describing her as a UK‑based facilitator who laundered proceeds.
• Border Force intercepted two lorries at Dover in 2022, seizing 90 kg of ketamine and 50 kg of cocaine in July, then 142 kg of cocaine and 25 kg of heroin hidden in a modified fuel tank in August.
• Burton was arrested by Spanish police at Ibiza’s Pacha nightclub in August 2023 and was later extradited to Germany before being returned to the UK in March 2024.
• NCA officers linked Burton’s fingerprints and DNA to the consignments and the adapted tank, with the agency saying the drugs would have caused destructive harm in communities.