A man on the National Crime Agency’s Most Wanted list led a gang delivering large amounts of cocaine to Wiltshire.

Alex Male, 32, from Weston-super-Mare oversaw the supply of at least 130 kilos of high-purity cocaine worth £4.5 million between March and June 2020 across south England including Trowbridge.

He pleaded guilty to heading up two conspiracies to supply cocaine and ketamine and laundering the money he made and was sentenced to 18 years at Exeter Crown Court on Monday, December 2.

He tried to escape justice by going on the run to Spain, Portugal and Morocco while other members of the two organised crime groups he ran were jailed.

He was added to the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Most Wanted list in January 2022, and a year later was caught and extradited from Morocco.

Male was originally arrested in June 2020 as part of a South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) investigation into class A drugs supply.

His arrest was part of Operation Venetic, the UK response to the takedown of encrypted messaging service Encrochat, which was used by criminals worldwide.

Using the Encrochat handles ‘Originaldagger’ and later ‘Ragnar.com’, a reference to his nickname among other criminals as ‘Viking’, Male organised two conspiracies.

The first involved Tom Allwood, 38, formerly from Cobham in Surrey and Danny Ashburner, 33, formerly from Chichester, West Sussex, who were sentenced in May 2023 to 11 years and 10 years four months respectively for their roles in conspiring to produce and supply ketamine, cocaine and cannabis.

Ashburner produced large quantities of ketamine for Allwood to sell, making at least 50kg of the drug between March and June 2020. Confiscation Orders totalling more than £345k were made against the men.

Communicating on Encrochat, Male arranged to buy £26,600 worth of ketamine from Allwood in April 2020.

Male also headed up a separate organised crime group who were all jailed in March this year for a total of 56 years for their roles as dealers, drugs and money couriers for Male.

Kai Williams, formerly from Coombe Dingle in Bristol was sentenced to 18 years after pleading guilty to the conspiracy. He acted as a class A drugs broker for the crime group.

In one Encrochat exchange, Male sent Williams a photo of a 1kg block of cocaine with a quoted price of £37,500. Willams replied to Male that it “looks banging”.(Image: Regional Organised Crime Unit Network)

Luther Takawira, formerly from Portishead and his friends James Cox and Benjamin Fry, both formerly from Shirehampton in Bristol, all stood trial and were convicted, receiving sentences of 11 to 15 years. 

The jury heard how Cox collected 20 kilos of cocaine on a single trip to Slough and Fry brought back 30 kilos from West Bromwich. The drugs were then delivered throughout our region, including to Portsmouth, Trowbridge, Bristol and Bridgwater.

In total, Male oversaw the supply of at least 130 kilos of high purity cocaine worth £4.5 million between March and June 2020.(Image: Regional Organised Crime Unit Network)

Male was released on bail following his arrest in June 2020 but breached his conditions and fled abroad.

David Hucker, NCA International Regional Head of Operations, who led the efforts to track down and extradite Male, said: “Alex Male went to extreme lengths to try and evade capture but he didn’t count on the determination of the NCA officers seeking him out. 

“We worked with police in the UK and Morocco, together ensuring he could be brought to account for drug trafficking, a crime that fuels violence and exploitation in communities nationwide.”

Detective Inspector Adrian Hawkins, who led the SWROCU investigation, said: “The volume of drugs we evidenced Alex Male as sourcing and supplying through our investigation, together with his actions while on the run over the last four years, show what a serious criminal he is.”

Male pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to acquire a firearm and ammunition. Those offences will lie on file.

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