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Wales Online
a day ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Inside the messy bedroom where a dealer was making illegal 'diet pills'
Inside the messy bedroom where a dealer was making illegal 'diet pills' Kyle Enos bought a banned industrial chemical on the dark web from labs in China and used it to make 'diet pills' in a bedroom operation which spanned the globe Video footage has exposed the messy bedroom where a Maesteg man was using a banned chemical bought on the dark web to make illegal and dangerous 'diet pills'. Kyle Enos bought the industrial chemical from labs in China and mixed it with other substances to produce the tablets which he sold online in the UK and globally. When officers from Tarian - the southern Wales serious and organised crime unit - raided Enos's house in Maesteg they found two kilos of the chemical along with a pill press and packaging. The messy room where Kyle Enos made his 'diet pills' (Image: Tarian ) The chemical - 2,4-Dinitrophenol or "DNP" - is poisonous to humans and banned for human consumption in Britain. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here The raid was captured on officers' body-worn video cameras. Article continues below Kyle Enos (Image: Tarian ) Cardiff Crown Court heard that the 33-year-old defendant shipped the pills to customers as far afield as Hawaii and Australia by disguising them as vitamins and minerals. He took payments in a variety of means including cryptocurrency. You can read more about the court case here. The pill press Enos used to make the tablets (Image: Tarian ) At the time the defendant was making and selling the tablets, Enos had only been out of prison for a matter of months after serving an eight year sentence for supplying the powerful opioid fentanyl online using the pseudonym "sovietbear". Such was the potency of fentanyl the defendant was selling that, following his arrest, police went through his contacts list and found four people on the database - including two in Wales - who had died. A batch of the chemical being mixed with cutting agents (Image: Tarian ) Kyle Enos, formerly of Newport but now of Station Road, Maesteg, had previously pleaded guilty to importing, acquiring or using a regulated substance without licence; supplying a regulated substance to the public without a licence, supplying a regulated poison by a person other than a pharmacist; and five counts of failing to comply with a serious crime prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. Article continues below With a discount for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to three years in prison. He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Wales Online
6 days ago
- Wales Online
He made 'diet pills' in his bedroom and sold them online but they contained something very dangerous
He made 'diet pills' in his bedroom and sold them online but they contained something very dangerous Kyle Enos bought an industrial chemical on the dark web which is banned for human consumption in the UK and used it to make illegal 'diet pills' which he sold online Kyle Enos (Image: Tarian ) A man used an industrial chemical bought from China on the dark web to make illegal and dangerous 'diet pills', a court has heard. Kyle Enos sold the pills to dieters around the UK and overseas, disguising the packages as harmless vitamin tablets. Cardiff Crown Court heard the 'diet tablets' were made with 2,4-Dinitrophenol - or DNP - an industrial chemical that is poisonous to humans and which is banned for human consumption in the UK. The chemical can cause death as well as other serious physical side-effects. At the time he was making and selling the pills the defendant had only been out of prison for a matter of months after serving a lengthy sentence for supplying the powerful opioid fentanyl. The court heard Enos would purchase the pure form sodium salt of 2,4-Dinitrophenol on the dark web from China. He then mixed the orange powder with various cutting agents and used a pill press in his bedroom to manufacture the tablets. The defendant advertised the pills - and other regulated medications - on a website he had created, and took payments in cryptocurrencies. The court heard Enos received orders via email and shipped the pills - disguised as vitamins and minerals - to customers around the UK and internationally as far afield as Hawaii and Australia. A batch of the chemical being mixed with cutting agents (Image: Tarian ) The 33-year-old was arrested in July last year when officers from Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for southern Wales, raided his home and found more than two kilos of DNP along with a pill press. The raid followed information received from the National Crime Agency. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter Kyle Enos, formerly of Newport but now of Station Road, Maesteg, had previously pleaded guilty to importing, acquiring or using a regulated substance without licence; supplying a regulated substance to the public without a licence, supplying a regulated poison by a person other than a pharmacist; and five counts of failing to comply with a serious crime prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The pill press Enos used to make the tablets (Image: Tarian ) In 2018 the defendant was convicted of importing, supplying, and exporting "significant amounts" of the Class A drug fentanyl and sentenced to eight years in prison. That offending involved Enos - using the online pseudonym "sovietbear" - purchasing the synthetic opioid from labs in China, mixing it with other substances, and selling it to customers around the world using the dark web. Such was the potency of the drug the defendant was selling police went through his contacts list following his arrest and found four people on the database had died, though it could not be proved that the fentanyl supplied by Enos was related to their deaths. Among thd deaths were those of 23-year-old university student Jack Barton, who died in Cardiff in January, 2017, and Aaron Rees, aged 34, from Ammanford who was found dead in March, 2017. As well as being handed a lengthy jail term Enos was made subject of a serious crime prevention order which, among other things, banned him from selling products online and banned him from accessing the dark web. The DNP offending put him in breach of that order. The defendant had only been out of prison for a matter of months following the fentanyl conviction when he began dealing in the illegal diet pills. With a discount for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to three years in prison. He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Speaking after the sentencing, detective constable Kieran Morris of Tarian said Enos was caught thanks to a "proactive partnership investigation" involving the National Crime Agency, the National Food Crime Unit, the Ministry of Defence, HM Prison and Probation Service, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, and South Wales Police. Article continues below He said: "The swift arrest of Enos and the removal of these poisonous diet pills from the open market was our utmost priority. Enos was supplying the pills with no safety precautions in place, and no advice on dosages. "This could have led to buyers becoming extremely ill or even dying. Tarian regional organised crime unit are committed to safeguarding members of the public not only within our region, but across the United Kingdom and beyond. The sentence handed down to Enos today should serve as a warning to others engaging in similar criminality." The head of the National Crime Agency's prisons and lifetime management unit, Alison Abbott, said crime prevention orders were a "powerful tool" to help prevent offenders from continuing their criminality when they came out of prison, and she said the case of Enos should serve as a warning to others that the agency would "actively monitor all those who are subject to such orders" when they are in the community.
South Wales Argus
08-05-2025
- South Wales Argus
Tarian probe sees man jailed for couriering cash and drugs
Nathaniel Armani, 46, from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, was sentenced at Merthyr Crown Court on Tuesday, May 6. He was found guilty of couriering cash and drugs on behalf of an organised crime group (OCG). Armani was caught as part of Operation Tender, a proactive investigation led by Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) for southern Wales. The investigation focused on the supply of Class A and Class B drugs into the southern Wales region. Armani acted as a courier for an OCG operating from a base in the Metropolitan Police area. The group was responsible for the wholesale supply of multi-kilo quantities of cocaine and cannabis throughout the UK. On Thursday, October 12, 2023, at the request of Tarian ROCU, officers from Cumbria Police intercepted Armani as he drove his Audi A8 south on the M6. A search of his vehicle found £200,000 in cash and multiple mobile phones. His mobile phones were examined and found to contain evidence, including images and videos, of his criminal activities and his connection to the OCG. Armani had already pleaded guilty to money laundering and drug supply offences at earlier hearings. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, namely 11kgs of cocaine, being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs, namely 603kgs of cannabis, and transferring criminal property, namely just under £1.7 million in cash. The combined wholesale value of the drugs supplied by Armani was just under £3 million. His Honour, Judge Jeremy Jenkins KC, called it a 'quite staggering amount of cannabis.' Detective Constable Sean Meyrick, of Tarian ROCU, said: "The arrest of Armani demonstrates that Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit will pursue offenders across the UK." He called the sentencing a 'significant' disruption to organised criminality and said it 'has had a knock-on effect on the supply and distribution of Class A and B drugs into the southern Wales region.'
Wales Online
06-05-2025
- Wales Online
Gang courier delivered 11kg of cocaine, 603kg of cannabis, and £1.7million cash
Gang courier delivered 11kg of cocaine, 603kg of cannabis, and £1.7million cash Nathaniel Armani delivered drugs worth £3million for a London-based organised crime group Nathaniel Armani was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role as a courier with an OCG (Image: Taian ) Welsh detectives identified a courier working for an organised crime group who transported £3million-worth of drugs around the UK, a court has heard. Nathaniel Armani delivered 11kg of cocaine, 603kg of cannabis and £1.7million in cash for the London-based gang. At the request of Welsh officers Armani was stopped by colleagues on a motorway in the north of England and was found with £200,000 hidden in his Audi car - and a phone full of incriminating messages and photos. Merthyr Crown Court heard Armani was caught thanks to an investigation into the supply of Class A and B drugs in south Wales led by Tarian, the southern Wales regional organised and serious crime squad. The investigation - codenamed Operation Tender - showed a London-based crime gang was behind the wholesale supply of multi-kilo quantities of cocaine and cannabis throughout the UK. The court heard that at the request of Tarian officers, Cumbrian police stopped Armani's Audi A6 car as he drove southbound on the M6 motorway in October 2023. A search of the car uncovered £200,000 in cash and multiple mobile phones. The phones were seized and examined, and officers found messages, pictures and videos which demonstrated Armani's involvement with the organised crime group. Read about the Swansea boss of an organised crime group who was arrested in a barber's chair as he tried to change his appearance Nathaniel Armani, aged 46, of Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, and transferring criminal property - namely just under £1.7million in cash - when he returned to the dock for sentencing. The combined wholesale value of the drugs supplied by Armani was put at just under £3million. Article continues below Detectives found photos of bags of cocaine on Armani's phone (Image: Tarian ) Judge Jeremy Jenkins said that Armani had been couriering a "quite staggering amount of cannabis" around the country. With discounts for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here. Speaking after the sentencing detective constable Sean Meyrick of Tarian said: "The arrest of Armani demonstrates that Tarian regional organised crime unit will pursue offenders across the UK. The sentencing of Armani is a significant disruption to organised criminality and has had a knock-on effect to the supply and distribution of Class A and B drugs into the southern Wales region. It should also serve as a warning to others engaging in similar criminality."
