Young couple jailed after £20m drug smuggling plot unravelled in Ibiza nightclub bust
Eddie Burton, 23, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison while his accomplice Sian Banks, 25, will spend five years behind bars
A Liverpool drug boss who thought he could outsmart detectives has been jailed for nearly two decades after a £20 million smuggling plot was uncovered by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Listen to this article
Eddie Burton, 23, from Merseyside, was arrested will partying under a fake name to evade detection at the world-famous Pacha nightclub in Ibiza last summer.
He has now been to 19 years’ imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court for masterminding two large-scale drug importations.
Burton's ex-girlfriend Sian Banks, 25, also from Liverpool, played a pivotal role in the scheme and was jailed for five years in February.
The pair's downfall came after Border Force officers twice intercepted trucks at Dover in 2022, uncovering 307kg of heroin, cocaine and ketamine hidden in shopping bags, boxes and even a fuel tank. The street value was estimated at a staggering £20 million.
Read more: Donald Trump announces host of new tariffs including drugs, trucks and kitchen cabinets
Read more: British Airways flight attendant who stripped naked in plane toilet while high on drugs spared jail
A courier, Latvian driver Maris Fridvalds, 64, was jailed for 14 years in March 2023.
Forensics later linked Burton directly to the shipments, with his fingerprints and DNA found on the drugs and the adapted fuel tank.
Meanwhile, investigators found that Banks jetted off mostly to Netherland and Spain between June 2022 and October 2023 to visit Burton.
Messages between Banks and Burton revealed that she prepared the first shipment of drugs for transportation alongside him.
She was also found to be operating a scam selling doctored Covid-19 travel documents in the height of the pandemic.
Banks pleaded guilty to a total of seven charges on 3 February, including importing Class A drugs and money laundering.
She was first arrested in December 2023.
NCA senior investigation officer John Turner said: “Burton, with Banks’ help, attempted to smuggle huge quantities of harmful drugs into the UK, believing he could operate with impunity overseas.
“Banks held a crucial role in the criminal enterprise, laundering the illicit profits and acting as the UK-based facilitator for the multi-million pound drug importations.
“The drugs, had they reached their final destination, would have had a destructive impact on our communities, fuelling violence and exploiting vulnerable people throughout the supply chain.”
