Notorious gangster facing 11 charges after allegedly breaking rules

17 November 2023 , 15:32

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Undated Jersey Police handout picture of Curtis Warren

Infamous gang leader Curtis Warren is facing court after being charged with breaching his serious crime prevention order.

Liverpool's Warren was jailed for 13 years in 2009 for drug trafficking charges and was ordered to pay almost £200m to the government of Jersey. The 60-year-old had a litany of other offences and has now been arrested on suspicion of breaching the terms of his release. He was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCS) in Boldon Colliery, South Tyneside in July this year and was informed of the charges as he answered bail at a police station in Merseyside today, Friday, November 17.

The 11 charges authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service include alleged breaches relating to communications devices, travel, vehicles, business arrangements and finances, all said to have been committed between November 2022 and July 2023. He has been bailed and is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates on 15 December.

Warren was convicted of the further crimes in 2009 after his original imprisonment in Holland in 1996 for a £125m cocaine importation scheme. He was then given the nickname "Cocky" in prison after he killed a fellow inmate by kicking him in the head. Warren was convicted of manslaughter for using "excessive violence" and was handed an extra four years. He was briefly freed in 2007 and returned to the UK, but after only five weeks he was arrested over a plot to smuggle cannabis worth £1m into Jersey. He later had 10 years added onto his sentence for failing to pay back £198m as part of a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation order.

Upon his release from Whitemoor Prison, Cambridgeshire, the NCA confirmed Warren was put under a number of strict measures. Warren was subjected to the orders until November 20th, 2027. It is these orders he has now allegedly broken. The thug was also known as "Britain's Pablo Escobar", as despite speaking no foreign languages and having a limited education, he managed to successfully negotiate with drug dealers worldwide.

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