UK drug baron ordered to pay £198m or face 10 years in jail

Curtis Warren was given an option to pay £198m or remain in prison for another 10 years.

13:55 06 November 2013

50-year-old Curtis Warren is former Interpol target number one and one of Britain’s most notorious drug smugglers. He had wide network of agents, fixers, and alliances across drug-dealing world making him one of the key figures in the global trade. A Jersey court has now given him an option: pay £198m or face another 10 years in jail.

The Jersey legal authorities have recently rejected Warren’s legal team’s request of paying the whole amount in a span of 18 months. Solicitor general Howard Sharp said that the order was “the result of several years of extensive investigation into the criminal career and financial affairs of one of Europe’s most notorious organised criminals.”

Steve Baldwin, head of investigations in the northwest for the National Crime Agency, said: "The authorities in Jersey have achieved a tremendous result against Curtis Warren, one of the most prolific drug dealers of a generation.

“Making sure that criminals do not profit from their crimes is key to making the UK less of a target for organised crime, and we will be relentless in pursuing their money.”