R v KS: Represented KS who was acquitted of conspiring to supply cocaine in multi-kilo quantities. All other defendants were convicted and were sentenced to a total of 116 years’ imprisonment. The case concerned the shipment of drugs from the South East to South Wales on an almost daily basis, with the prosecution relying on cell-site and telephone evidence to track the defendants across the country. The case was widely reported.

R v H: (Operation Component) 5 defendants were charged with importing £5.5million of cannabis and ecstasy (‘Class A’ drugs) from Holland. Following a Serious Organised Crime Agency (‘SOCA’) surveillance operation, officers raided a warehouse in Barking, Essex, where they found a concrete block disguised as a crane counter-weight, which had been used to conceal the drugs. All 5 defendants were arrested. At Chelmsford Crown Court the prosecution described them as ‘big players in a major league drugs organisation’. My client was acquitted. All other defendants were convicted.

R v M and others: Eight defendants were accused of importing £14 million of cocaine in this ten week trial at Manchester Crown Court that saw complex legal arguments about cell-site and telephone evidence, Dutch telephone intercept evidence, and undercover surveillance evidence. 404 witnesses provided statements. My client was found not guilty. All other defendants were imprisoned for up to 26 years. See report from BBC news.

R v B and others: Twelve defendants were accused of importing £62 million of cannabis into the UK as the result of a massive police operation. There were also linked money laundering allegations. I represented B who was originally charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis. After I negotiated with the prosecution the client admitted money laundering and was not imprisoned. See report from The Daily Mail.

R v S and others, Ipswich Crown Court: A Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) prosecution in which I was leading junior counsel representing a man allegedly involved in a conspiracy to import and ‘flood the United Kingdom’ with £7 million of cannabis. SOCA officers intercepted drugs consignments and planted probes to record suspects operating in an Essex warehouse. After three weeks of prosecution evidence I persuaded the judge that the case against his client should be withdrawn from the jury. My client was then found not guilty. Other defendants were convicted.

R v P: Represented a defendant alleged to be ‘one of the largest drugs dealers in south London’ in a 2-month trial involving 60 kilos of cocaine, ‘millions’ of ecstasy tablets, and undercover police. The defendant allegedly ran a drugs syndicate and supplied small amounts of drugs by way of samples, but we successfully argued that no conviction could be founded on the evidence of supplying samples unless the jury were sure the defendant was involved in a larger scale drugs conspiracy. The defendant was found not guilty.

R v F: A 4-month trial involving a Turkish drugs ‘super-grass’ who turned on his ex-colleagues. In the course of 700 hours' of interviews he gave a full account of life as leader of an international drugs and crime syndicate. The case involved allegations of conspiracy to supply multi-million pounds worth of heroin. This drugs syndicate was ruthless, chopping the fingers off a man who lost £1million of its heroin. My client was alleged to have been selling heroin through a string of sauna and massage parlours. He was acquitted by the jury.

R v P and others: A series of cases arising from a large-scale undercover police operation aimed at the Oxfordshire drugs trade with covert surveillance and observation evidence. The police bugged the home of the leader of a drugs supply syndicate and covertly followed him. The operation eventually led to the Mayor of Didcot who was 'fencing' goods stolen by drug-users.

R v White and others: The defendants were allegedly involved in the large scale supply of drugs from Essex to Norfolk, using a fishing bait factory for cover. This substantial police operation involved surveillance, probe evidence, and a police raid at the point of handover. The trial lasted seven weeks and raised issues as to the lawfulness of the police operation and the admissibility of probe evidence.

R v Dixon: Nick appeared as lead counsel for the main defendant in a massive 7-month drugs trial at Wood Green Crown Court. The case involved issues and arguments in numerous spheres of evidence and law, and the case had countless issues that Nick overcame. The case involved the wholesale supply of heroin, cocaine and other drugs, with the allegations linked to firearms and modern slavery.