DRUGS TRAFFICKER JAILED FOR COCAINE AIRPORT PLOTS

A dog-breeding drugs trafficker has been jailed for his role in a high-stakes cocaine smuggling operation at Manchester Airport. Dale Hosker, 50, received a 15-year and four-month sentence at Bolton Crown Court today (Wednesday), following an extensive National Crime Agency investigation. Hosker was the last of several offenders from two organized crime groups to be brought to justice. Last month, his partner Dale Creen, 35, was sentenced to 11 years. Albanians Elton Hallaci and Artur Iseberi were also jailed for their roles: Hallaci received 21 years and seven months, while Iseberi got 18 years. The operation involved couriers from the United States who flew into Manchester Airport with no luggage on May 11, 2024. They waited for suitcases containing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to arrive from Cancun, Mexico. Following text message instructions from a US contact named 'Nate,' they collected specific suitcases and transferred them to Hosker and the Albanians. One courier left a suitcase behind, leading Border Force officers to discover 20 one-kilogram blocks of cocaine. On that day, Hosker collected 40kg of cocaine, while Hallaci and Iseberi got 100kg. A few weeks later, on May 31, 266kg of high-purity cocaine with a street value of around £24m was smuggled in 12 suitcases. Only one woman courier managed to deliver 20kgs to Creen. NCA officers arrested Hallaci, Iseberi, Hosker, and Creen on June 17, 2025. Evidence against them was damning, with CCTV footage, a photograph of Hosker loading suitcases into his car, and detailed ledgers found in Hallaci’s home indicating how the drugs were distributed. NCA Branch Commander Jon Hughes stated, 'The Class A drugs trade is inextricably bound up with extreme violence which can have devastating consequences. Offenders like Hosker are driven by greed and don’t care about the trail of misery and harm from source countries in South America to the streets of our towns and cities.'