Mum of criminal angry after her law role 'leaked'

Sue Arnold said her son's "reckless decisions" had impacted on many lives

A former deputy police and crime commissioner says her faith in policing is "devastated" after officers allegedly tipped off the media that she was a drugs kingpin's mother.

Sue Arnold, who covered Staffordshire, claimed the info was unnecessary and in response to her one-time role.

Jonathon Arnold, jailed on Friday over a smuggling operation, was named as her son in newspapers following his conviction in May.

Police deny claims of a tip-off.

In a statement on Friday, Ms Arnold criticised her son's offending, citing "reckless decisions that have impacted on so many lives", with his sentencing "testament to his wrongdoing".

But she also used the opportunity to hit out at police.

She said: "After dedicating 10 years of my life to supporting as well as holding law enforcement in this country to account, I feel that my husband and I have been the victims of some policing sharp practice.

"We fervently believe we have been persecuted by the police as a family, and the press tipped off over my personal connection with law enforcement as a former deputy police and crime commissioner (PCC)."

She questioned whether her "former life as a deputy PCC" was in the public interest, but claimed it had been in "police interest" to tell the media about the familial link, which had since "brought only personal, professional, psychological and financial ruin to our lives".

Saying her "confidence in law enforcement" had been "destroyed", she added: "It feels to me now like some kind of warped payback for my devotion to policing, with an avowed intent to shatter my reputation which they have done."

While she did not name a specific force she believed to be responsible for the alleged tip-off, she was critical of West Midlands Police's handling of aspects of the case against her son, and claimed during investigations by the force, officers had said they anticipated a media "field day" over the relationship, suggesting, she said, "wilful intent to destroy my reputation".

West Midlands Police said: "We would never comment on or confirm the family connections of an individual unless there was a policing purpose for doing so."

Ms Arnold, who was elected to help oversee Staffordshire Police as a Conservative candidate, served between 2012 and 2021. The Staffordshire force has been contacted for comment.

She said of her son: "We still cannot fully comprehend where it all went wrong. He had a privileged upbringing as an only child and we were successful business people."

Leader Jonathan Arnold admitted four charges of conspiracy to import and supply drugs - cocaine, heroin and ketamine

Jonathan Arnold, 30, of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, led the gang behind the "biggest drugs case" in the West Midlands, police said.

He was sentenced to 23 years and six months in prison after admitting four charges of conspiracy to import and supply drugs.

Nearly two tonnes of cocaine, heroin and ketamine - carrying a street value of £135m - was brought into UK ports by using dummy loads of furniture, Birmingham Crown Court heard during the trial.

Furniture in a van was used to hide the consignment of drugs

Mr Arnold's accomplices, James Jenkins, 25, Humayan Sadiq, 43, and Connor Fletcher, 25, all from the West Midlands, have been jailed for 15, 27 and 12 years respectively after being found guilty for their roles in the drugs ring.

James Jenkins, Humayan Sadiq and Connor Fletcher have been jailed alongside Arnold

Det Ch Supt Jenny Skyrme, head of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: "This is the biggest drugs case that we have ever dealt with as an organisation.

"The gang was operating at the highest levels of criminality, bringing in industrial quantities of drugs to sell on the streets of the West Midlands and beyond."