Specialist organised crime crackdown hits jail terms of 400 years

Drug dealer John Haylett is facing almost eight years behind bars after Bedfordshire Police uncovered a lavish lifestyle funded by organised criminal activity.  

This included a mortgage-free home in a Central Bedfordshire village, thousands of pounds worth of The Simpsons memorabilia as well as thousands of pounds in cash stashed under his floorboards. 

Haylett was collared by Bedfordshire Police’s Operation Costello using the alias ‘Plowking’ on the Encrochat communications network used by criminals. 

Encrochat messages showed Haylett, of High Street, Arlesey, speaking to other criminals during the Covid pandemic setting up ‘meets and exchanges’, putting him in a senior position in the illicit drugs trade business. 

Supply of illegal drugs fell during the pandemic and lockdowns, pushing up prices criminal gangs were charging for things like cocaine. 

Haylett, 55, was initially arrested by officers in January 2022 at Stansted Airport. 

Messages showed Haylett talking to other Encrochat users about drug dealers making a profit of over £10,000 on certain deals, having made around £3,000 on similar deals before.  

Detectives searched Haylett’s home address, which had been purchased without a mortgage, and found a significant amount of memorabilia and artwork from the television programme The Simpsons – some of which were worth around £500. 

Designer trainers and clothing were also seized. 

Sniffer dogs trained to smell cash also led officers to find more than £40,000 in cash stashed under floorboards at the address. 

Further incriminating evidence uncovered by detectives included a hidden document called ‘melting point of cocaine and common adulterants’. 

HMRC enquiries showed him only earning a modest £23,000. 

On Friday (12 January) Haylett was sentenced to seven years and 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. 

He had no prior drug related convictions. 

Detective Superintendent Dani Bailey, who leads Operation Costello, said: “Operation Costello has had many successes in its impressive pursuit of serious and organised crime in Bedfordshire.  

“The force is incredibly proud to have reached the 400-year milestone for sentences. The high-level drug dealers we have put behind bars must endure the same misery they enacted on our communities.  

“Haylett was typical of so many drug dealers, leading a luxurious lifestyle paid for off the back off a criminal enterprise inextricably linked to violence and exploitation of vulnerable people.

“These people should be behind bars so if you have suspicions about someone and where they have got their money, please report them.” 

For more information about serious and organised crime in Bedfordshire visit https://www.beds.police.uk/police-forces/bedfordshire-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/operation-costello/