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The gangster known as ‘Britain’s Pablo Escobar’ has been charged with breaching crime prevention rules imposed when he was released from prison following a failed plot to smuggle drugs worth more than £1million into Jersey.
60-year-old Curtis Warran has been charged with committing numerous breaches of his Serious Crime Prevention Order which came into force when he was released from prison after 14 years in November last year.
Warren was arrested by the National Crime Agency in South Tyneside in July for allegedly breaching the restrictions, and was charged last week.
National Crime Agency officers have charged a 60-year-old man from Liverpool with committing numerous breaches of his Serious Crime Prevention Order.
— National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) November 17, 2023
Read the full story ➡️ https://t.co/YRnTwm70Ov pic.twitter.com/w9SRHFqDIw
In a statement, the NCA said: “National Crime Agency officers have charged a 60-year-old man from Liverpool with committing numerous breaches of his Serious Crime Prevention Order.
“Curtis Warren, who was arrested by the NCA in Boldon Colliery, South Tyneside in July, was informed of the charges as he answered bail at a police station in Merseyside on Friday 17 November.
“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.
“Warren has been bailed and is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates on 15 December.”
Pictured: Curtis Warren has been charged with breaching a crime prevention order imposed when he was released from prison following a failed plot to smuggle drugs worth more than £1million into Jersey.
Warren was released from maximum security Whitemore prison in Cambridgeshire in 2022 after 14 years behind bars.
Following his release, he faced a tough set of restrictions imposed by the National Crime Agency in order to prevent him from re-entering the world of crime – among them were strict travel restrictions, and bans on using WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, handling cash of £1,000 of more and dabbling in cryptocurrency.
In July, he was questioned in custody over alleged breaches of these restrictions, which the NCA said “relate to the unauthorised use of mobile phones, vehicles, bank accounts and travel”.
NCA officers also carried out searches at the location in Boldon and another address in the Royal Albert Dock area of Liverpool.
At the time, a spokesperson told the Mirror that mobile devices, documents and a quantity of cash were seized and were being examined by investigators.
Warren’s former barrister Anthony Barraclough confirmed to the Mirror Warren was the man arrested in July, even though he had not yet been named by the NCA.
Mr Barraclough, who is retained by Warren’s firm of solicitors to provide advice and has represented Warren in previous trials in other countries, said that "any breaches will be minor transgressions."
He added: “These will be very fine interpretations of restrictions I anticipate. I imagine he was in Tyneside to visit friends.
“He is allowed to travel and have mobile phones, bank accounts and up to £1,000 in cash. He can travel abroad if he gives seven days notice. If he is going to be away from home he needs permission and he has had permission.
“I have not spoken to him yet as he is in custody.”
Breaches of a Serious Crime Prevention Order can result in up to five years behind bars, an unlimited fine, or both.
When Warren was released last year, his barrister said that he now only wanted “peace and quiet”.
“The first thing he wanted to do was to see his mother… He is allowed to have a decent, ordinary life,” Mr Barraclough told the Sun in November 2022.
Pictured: The case of Curtis Warren was one of the most high profile to reach Jersey's Royal Court.
Curtis Warren is reportedly the only criminal to ever make the Sunday Times Rich List who left his native Liverpool to become an international cocaine smuggler.
But in 2009 a jury in Jersey found him guilty of being involved in a plot to smuggle £1m worth of cannabis into the island and he was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.
In 2013, the Royal Court ordered Mr Warren to pay £198m after the drug dealer failed to prove he had not earned that sum in a lifetime of high-level criminality. He failed to provide the funds so was given a default sentence of ten years in prison, of which he had to serve at least half. Warren appealed the sentence, but lost.
Warren’s trial in Jersey was one of the highest profile cases to be heard in the Royal Court. Amid tight security, which included rooftop marksmen, he was found guilty, along with five other men, including two from Jersey.
Last year, it was reported that British director Guy Ritchie had asked Warren’s legal team about making a film about the gangster.
This year, ahead of his release, his life story was serialised in the form of a podcast by the BBC.
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