Bodycam footage shows the arrest of ‘gangster granny’
A “gangster granny” who ran a UK-wide cocaine ring and splashed cash on designer gear for her cat has been sentenced to 20 years in jail. Deborah Mason, 65, dubbed “Queen Bee”, headed up a crime gang which put almost a tonne of cocaine on the streets over seven months.
Mason and seven members of the gang were sentenced to a total of 106 and a half years at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday (July 18). The gang’s cocaine was delivered by couriers across London, Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff between April and November 2023. The drugs had an estimated wholesale value of between £23million to £35m and a street value of £80m.
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Deborah Mason, 65, dubbed ‘Queen Bee’, headed up a crime gang which sold almost a tonne of cocaine (Image: MPS)
Ringleader “Ma Coke” Mason spent her profits on designer gear and was looking to go Turkey for cosmetic surgery. She bought a Bengal cat and a £400 Gucci collar and lead for the pet. Its name, Ghost, was engraved on a 9-carat gold name tag.
Dubbed “gangster granny” by Scotland Yard, Mason directed other members of the gang and was in contact with an upstream supplier called Bugsy. She was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Judge Philip Shorrock told Mason: “You were effectively the site foreman working under the direction of a site manager. You recruited members of your own family – as a mother you should have been setting an example for your children and not corrupting them.”
Prosecutor Charlotte Hole said all the gang members took part in a conspiracy which involved the nationwide supply of about a metric tonne of cocaine, collected usually from areas near ports such as Harwich.
She added: “Everyone involved had an expectation of significant financial advantage, at least £1,000 per trip, and it is one of the most significant parts of the motivation of the conspiracy. They all had an awareness of the scale of the operation.”
Mason took part in 20 trips, delivering 356kg of cocaine, and also made trips to deliver and collect cash. She used an encrypted app which had auto-deletion of messages set up “to keep the operation secret and messages deleted” after contact with her supplier.
The drugs had a street value of £80million (Image: MPS)
Ms Hole said Mason recruited family members, partners and friends of her children to a network of at least 10 individuals. She also organised those who drove for her, staying in phone contact from the early hours to make sure they were up and checking in on them during the day.
Mason, of Tufnell Park, North London, didn’t use pressure or coercion to woo her family into the gang, as they were “motivated by financial benefit”, the court heard.
During the whole time, she took in excess of £50,000 per year in benefits while acting as ringleader and spending on luxuries.
Ms Hole said: “(You) will recollect the messages seen during the trial with reference to her photographing large amounts of cash, and referring to making £90,000 by the end of the year, as well as her lavish spending on designer goods and expressed intention to travel to Turkey to have cosmetic surgery procedures.”
When Mason was on holiday in Dubai, her daughter Roeseanne Mason, who made seven trips delivering about 166kg of cocaine, stepped in to the directing role, the court heard.
The prosecution said Roeseanne Mason collected cash for her mother and also “provided childcare so that others could work”.
Mother-of-two Demi Bright made a single trip in August 2023 which involved 60kg of cocaine. She even took her children with her on the two-day trip, which involved an overnight stay in a hotel.
Top (L-R): Anita Slaughter, Demi Bright. Bottom (L-R): Demi Kendall, Lillie Bright (Image: MPS)
She agreed to deliver more drugs in November 2023, but dropped out. It appears she stepped back from the drug plot after her sister Roeseanne Mason was arrested, “saying she wanted to go straight but she continued to help her mother in the organisation and was aware of its scale”, the court heard.
The prosecution said “most significantly” she recruited Anita Slaughter to the gang, whom she offered work on a daily basis. Lillie Bright was involved in 20 trips involving 195kg of cocaine.
Her partner Chloe Hodgkin, 23, of Abbots Walk, Wye, Kent, is awaiting the birth of her baby and is to be sentenced at a date to be set.
Ms Hole said: “The two of them took Lillie Bright’s son with them, who was two at the time, in a car with cardboard boxes containing kilogrammes of cocaine.” Lillie Bright also had 35g of cocaine she offered for sale, the court heard.
Reggie Bright’s 12 trips as part of the gang delivered at least 90kg and there were times he collected wages for the group.
He usually took trips with his partner, Demi Kendall, 31, telling her “not to get the hump” because they needed the money, the court heard.
Reggie Bright had been a cocaine user and an addict since his teens. He had a brain injury as a result of his misuse. He claimed he not to know where the drugs were coming from, but encrypted messages on the Signal app showed this was a lie.
Ms Hole said: “He used the Signal alias Frank and was clearly known to, and in direct contact with, the upstream supplier.”
L-R: Reggie Bright, Roseanne Mason and Tina Golding (Image: MPS)
Demi Kendall carried out 15 trips involving 98kg of cocaine, and “often” took her toddler with her in a car. She also recruited her friend, and later, talking about the plot, told her “you’d get years if u got stopped with the amount that we carry – serious jail time”.
Tina Golding made four trips and delivered at least 75kg of cocaine. She collected at least £10,000 in wages. Anita Slaughter took part in a single trip, which amounted to 55kg across four drops, in October 2023.
George Payne, defending for Deborah Mason, claimed his client was not the gang’s leader. He said: “It is precisely because she does not look like someone who is involved in drug dealing that she was chosen to be part of the plot.”
Mr Payne added: “I submit that all of these individuals are expendable, without experience and without a lot of knowledge.”
Roseanne Mason, 29, of Canonbury, north London, and Demi Bright, 30, of Ashford, Kent, were each sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.
Lillie Bright, 26, of Ashford, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years, and Demi Kendall, 31, of Staplehurst, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years and six months imprisonment.
Reggie Bright, 24, of Staplehurst, Kent, was sentenced to 15 years, and Tina Golding, 66, of Ashford, Kent, was jailed for 10 years. Anita Slaughter, 44, of Ashford, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.
After sentencing Crown Prosecution Service specialist prosecutor Robert Hutchinson said: “This was no ordinary family. Instead of nurturing and caring for her relatives, Deborah Mason recruited them to establish an extraordinarily profitable criminal enterprise that would ultimately put them all behind bars.”
Det Cons Jack Kraushaar, who led the investigation, described it as “a sophisticated operation”. He added: “The group were sucked into criminality, selfishly attracted by the financial benefits of the drug-dealing to fund lavish lifestyles.
“They were unaware we were coming for them and this sentencing should act as a deterrent to those who think about committing this type of crime.”