On-the-run drug dealer jailed after being hunted for three years
A woman who has been on the run for three years after admitting smuggling drugs into prison and importing cocaine into the UK has been jailed. Emily MacArthur, 34, of no fixed address, failed to appear in court back in April 2022 having pleaded guilty to both offences.Her co-conspirator and former partner Dennis Obasi was sentenced to 11 years and seven months in November 2022.On Friday, MacArthur was sentenced to 13 years and 11 months in prison when she appeared at Swindon Crown Court. The hearing was told MacArthur exploited young people and vulnerable women to smuggle her drugs so she could fund a lavish lifestyle.
MacArthur was also jailed for the previous guilty pleas, but also for three counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, possession of criminal property, and the failure to attend court.
Drugs disguised as seasoning
An investigation by the the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) started when UK Border Force discovered cocaine in parcels in January 2020.Officers stopped three parcels from Jamaica, addressed to MacArthur at flats in Frome and Bristol. Cocaine, with a street value of more than £13,000, was hidden inside what looked to be shipments of seasonings.MacArthur and Obasi had tens of thousands of messages between each other about making lots of money from drugs.In one message, MacArthur talks about "moving to hard food" – meaning cocaine – as she needed £23,000 for a car and wanted to live in a nicer house.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police were also investigating MacArthur about the supply of Spice into prisons.Police issued a warrant to search MacArthur's home in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, in February 2020. At the address, they uncovered substantial amounts of Spice and arrested MacArthur and Obasi.Equipment was found showing they had been making fake legal letters - which were not allowed to be opened by prison staff - to smuggle the Spice into jail.Between February 2019 and March 2020, at least 40 fake letters were recovered from 11 prisons in England, each package having between 25 and 50 sheets of infused paper.
The court heard that after the pair was released under investigation, they carried on drug dealing.Thames Valley Police arrested them when they were seen dropping off two teenagers at an address belonging to a vulnerable man. MacArthur used aliases to move around and avoid capture, but was arrested in Belfast in June 2024.DC Williams from SWROCU explained that MacArthur had been exploiting young people and vulnerable women to smuggle drugs. "It was all just about money and bettering her lifestyle."She's tried hard over the past few years to avoid being caught but now it's her turn to face justice for the harm she's caused," he said.
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