Liverpool men jailed for Australia drug smuggling bids

Members of a Liverpool organised crime group have been sentenced to significant prison terms for attempting to smuggle drugs to Australia and New Zealand. The National Crime Agency (NCA) led an investigation that uncovered multiple attempts to export illicit substances between October 2024 and March 2025.

Pink Cocaine Shipment Intercepted

Lee Brittles, 47, and Teo Grbesic, 23, attempted to send 252.8kg of a substance known as 'pink cocaine' to Castle Hill, New South Wales. The consignment, which contained MDMA, ketamine, and caffeine, was disguised as an industrial bench cutting saw. The drugs had an estimated street value of £11.3m in the UK, but were valued at $57m in Australia. On 10 October 2024, Brittles and Grbesic handed the package to a Fed Ex driver in Liverpool. The driver's suspicion led him to report the load to Border Force officers, who then alerted the NCA.

Following this interception, Brittles and his associates made eight further attempts to export drugs to Australia and New Zealand. These included a shipment of 8kg of MDMA destined for New Zealand, dropped off at a DHL collection point in Lancaster on 12 February 2025 by Ashley Armstrong, 32. The package was labelled as vehicle parts but was identified by Border Force officers at Manchester Airport.

Further attempts involved Brittles and Karl Dalton, 45, dropping off a parcel containing 2.9kg of methamphetamine at a Fed Ex depot in Warrington on 4 March 2025. This package was also labelled as vehicle parts and addressed to New Zealand. NCA officers, who were conducting surveillance on Brittles, seized the parcel. The following day, Brittles and Armstrong visited a Fed Ex depot in Speke, Liverpool, to send 11.6kg of MDMA to New Zealand, again disguised as vehicle parts.

In the final recorded attempt, just 48 hours later on 7 March 2025, the group tried to send 6kg of ketamine to Australia. This consignment, labelled as a whiskey decanter, was dropped off at a parcel depot by an unidentified individual. The NCA recovered the drugs. The group were responsible for four additional attempts to smuggle ketamine, cocaine, and MDMA to New Zealand and Australia by using the fast parcel delivery system, with NCA officers recovering the substances in each instance.

Sentencing and International Cooperation

Teo Grbesic, 23, who is from Siroki Brijeg in Bosnia, fled to Germany after his involvement. He was arrested in Duisberg and extradited to the UK in July. All the offenders pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle Class A and B drugs. On 2 October 2026, at Liverpool Crown Court, Lee Brittles was sentenced to 17 years and eight months in prison. Grbesic received a sentence of 13 years and four months, Dalton was sentenced to 12 years, and Armstrong received 10 years and four months.

The NCA collaborated with the Australian Federal Police, who investigated an individual in Australia in connection with the planned receipt of the 'pink cocaine'. This individual has admitted his involvement and is scheduled for sentencing in December. Colin Shackleton, NCA senior investigating officer, stated that protecting the public from Class A drugs is a top priority and that the operation prevented toxic substances from entering communities.