A British drugs kingpin who fled to Thailand and reinvented himself as a professional boxer to avoid justice has finally been jailed.
Fugitive Ben Ransome was sentenced to 14 years in prison today after he orchestrated the supply of millions of pounds worth of cocaine and ketamine.
Essex Police described taking down his empire as 'cutting off the head of the snake'.
The 29-year-old sat at the top of a criminal network which organised the sale of drugs in bulk to his customer base, which included dealers linked to firearms.
But Ransome bolted for Spain and then the Far East when his conspirators, couriers and customers began being arrested as detectives started one of the biggest and most complex investigations in the force's history.
Ransome was leading a life of luxury on the holiday island of Phuket, staying in a five-star apartment and passing himself off as a boxer named Billy Roberts, all the while continuing to pull the strings in his illicit drugs racket.
Police were able to track Ransome to Thailand and arrested him, before beginning the arduous process of deporting him to face justice in the UK.
Sentencing Ransome at Basildon Crown Court today, who was described as a model prisoner while in HMP Chelmsford, Her Honour Judge Siew Loke said: 'I hope upon release you will use the skills you plainly have in a more morally constructive way.'
Ben Ransome, 29, was arrested at a restaurant in Thailand after being on the run for two years on drug charges
He was described by Essex Police as the kingpin at the top of a major organised crime group (OCG)
The heavily tattooed fugitive had been living a life of luxury
Ransome, originally from Wickford near Basildon, had been living on the island of Phuket before he was arrested
He was arrested in September 2024 by Thai police
Ransome, pictured on the right, reinvented himself in Thailand as a professional boxer
Ransome, pictured boxing under the name Billy Roberts, received a lengthy prison sentence
Detective Inspector Yoni Adler, who led the investigation, told the Daily Mail: 'We have cut off the head of the snake.
'He's responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine into the country, and that ultimately ends up on the streets and in the hands of people who are really vulnerable.'
Ransome now joins five other members of his criminal network behind bars after admitting conspiring to supply cocaine and ketamine, possession of criminal property and supplying a controlled class A drug, cocaine.
His right-hand man, Russell Dendle, was jailed for 12 years in 2022, while Charlie Lancaster, Kieran Grant, Tye Cook and Jane Cook have also been handed significant prison sentences for their part in the offending.
Since its inception in 2021, Essex Police's Operation Spartan and its connected investigations have seized almost 50kg of cocaine, 1kg of heroin, and various large quantities of other drugs including ecstaxy and ketamine.
They have also recovered around £1 million in cash, and taken 20 firearms off the streets.
Ransome fled the UK in March 2022 after his associate Lancaster was arrested and found in possession of 9kg of cocaine, worth neaerly £1 million.
Lancaster was later jailed for six years.
Ransome was deported to the UK in July this year, and taken into Essex Police custody.
Members of the drugs racket jailed by Essex Police include, clockwise from top left: Tye Cook, Russell Dendle, Ben Ransome, Charlie Lancaster, Jane Cook, and Kieran Grant.
Detectives then traced Ransome to Thailand, where he had reinvented himself as a professional boxer using the name Billy Roberts.
Ransome, who was unmarried with no children, was continuing to pull strings in the multi-million-pound drugs empire, even as his couriers started to get caught.
In just a snapshot of the scale of the operation, one of Ransome's couriers, Grant - who was tracked down and jailed for eight years during the investigation - moved more than 200kg of cocaine in under two months.
Ransome believed he had got away with it until Essex Police, with help from the National Crime Agency and Thai authorities, were able to detain Ransome.
He spent nearly a year living in a Thai jail before being extradited to the UK.
DI Adler said: 'At an early stage, when he realised the net was closing and he likely faced arrest, he simply ran away, seeking to disappear and start a new life abroad.
'He's remained on a ticking clock ever since - it was only a matter of time before he faced the music.'
He said Ransome 'didn't have a day job, and he didn't ever seem to be struggling for money' while in Thailand.
'He was able to do what he wanted, when he wanted - to spend whatever he got on whatever he wanted,' DI Adler said.
'Once he left the country, and certainly while he was in Thailand, he was living very nicely in a luxury appartment. He was doing very nicely for himself.'
He added: 'This was very much the culmination of two years of hard work from the serious Organised Crime Unit, who worked tirelessly to make sure that Ransome ultimately faced justice.'
Daniel Newell, NCA regional manager for Thailand, said: 'Ben Ransome ran a highly sophisticated operation with no regard for the lives he devastated through his crimes.
'He believed he could evade justice by fleeing the country, underestimating the reach of the NCA and international partners to track down fugitives.'
Ransome, who has one previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol, was described by his lawyer as 'a changed man'.
Jonathan Green said: 'He has put behind him the lifestyle that led to the commission of these offences.'
The judge said Ransome will serve roughly half his sentence in custody, with the nearly 500 days spent on remand in Thailand and the UK deducted from his jail term.
He will be subject to confiscation proceedings next year, the court heard.