Most wanted man pleads guilty to drug supply charges

Alex Male was on the National Crime Agency's most wanted list

A man named as one of the UK's most wanted has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and ketamine, and to money laundering.

Alex Male, 32, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, appeared at Exeter Crown Court on Friday.

He pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to acquire a weapon and ammunition.

Male is due to appear back in court for sentencing on 18 October.

The group he was part of supplied more than 130kg of cocaine worth £4.5m across the south west, including in Portsmouth, Trowbridge, Bristol and Bridgwater.

Male was detained in Morocco on 21 January, after trying to enter the country using a fake passport and was extradited to England.

Following his initial arrest by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) in June 2020, Mr Male broke his bail conditions and went on the run. He was thought to be living in Spain and later Portugal.

He was added to the National Crime Agency's (NCA) most wanted list in January 2022 and was arrested four months later in Lisbon after arriving on a flight from Turkey.

But his release was authorised in October 2022 after the custody time limit expired.

'Significant jail term'

DCI Adam Smith from the SWROCU said: “Male has repeatedly tried to avoid facing justice for the serious offences he committed, but today he finally pleaded guilty to his role in organising the supply of huge amounts of class A and B drugs and laundering the cash they made.

“Alex Male led a group who were funding luxury lifestyles by exploiting the drug use of vulnerable people.

"Having already spent several months in prison in Morocco, he knows he can expect a significant jail term when he is sentenced next month."