Men jailed after £2.9m in drugs cash seized in Wolverhampton

Darren Percival, Lee Kennedy, and Alan Britton have been jailed for their part in laundering drugs money

Three men have been jailed after police seized almost £3m in drugs money, one of the largest seizures ever by West Midlands Police.

Darren Percival used a house in Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, as a base to launder money for criminal groups.

He worked with Alan Britton and Lee Kennedy as part of the operation.

All three were given sentences ranging from more than four years to two years for charges relating to controlling criminal property.

In total, £2,900,000 was recovered.

Investigations into conversations the men had shared on a messaging app uncovered the operation and the three men's involvement.

In total, £2,900,000 was recovered from the property in Fallings Park

Percival, 47, of Deans Road in Wolverhampton, communicated under the name Mistaken Mallet, while Britton, 50, of no fixed address, used the handle Random Foot.

Kennedy, 35, of Coleshaw Road in Manchester, was known as Betting Toxic.

When officers came knocking in May 2020, Percival was found at the house, along with huge amounts of cash scattered around the property.

In a front bedroom there were packs of Scottish, Irish and Sterling currency along with a cash-counting machine. Boxes of cash were recovered from a back bedroom, the kitchen, and a cupboard under the stairs.

Their illegal dealings came to light after the encrypted mobile network they were using, Enrochat, was shut down as part of a UK-wide operation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Boxes of cash were recovered from a back bedroom, the kitchen and in a cupboard under the stairs

Investigators then carried out an operation which resulted in a case against the three men, who each pleaded guilty to charges under the Proceeds of Crime Act earlier this year.

Percival pleaded guilty to a 'conceal/disguise/convert/transfer/remove criminal property' charge, while Britton and Kennedy pleaded guilty to a 'enter into/concerned in acquisition/retention/use or control of criminal property' charge.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court Percival was sentenced to four years in prison.

Britton was jailed for four years and nine months while Kennedy was jailed for two years and seven months.

Det Ch Insp Pete Cooke from West Midlands Police's Regional Organised Crime Unit said: "This safe house was laundering large sums of money for criminal groups but has now been put out of operation.

"The seizure is one the force's biggest but is just part of our continuing work to bring down drugs operations run by organised crime groups which all too often cause misery for the individuals involved and blight the communities they infiltrate."