Crime family's £800k money laundering and drug enterprise

TRIO DUBBED 'NOT QUITE THE SOPRANOS'

- By MARK PAGE [e-mail] @markwpage

A HULL-based crime family described by police as “not quite the Sopranos” was involved in laundering more than £800,000 and posting drugs around the country.

Three members of the family have now been convicted following a police investigation which “uncovered a deliberate and sustained effort to profit from crime”.

They were part of an operation that saw Daniel Cotson post large quantities of unlicensed Class C drugs - including zopiclone, diazepam and temazepam - across the UK through local shops and post offices.

They were sold online with payments funnelled into his bank accounts before being transferred to his parents, Paul and Stephanie Cotson, who invested £460,000 while also claiming benefits.

Suspicions were raised when a staff member from a shop in Hull city centre raised concerns about packages being sent out by Daniel Cotson.

Staff at the store carried out a security check and one of the parcels was found to contain blister packaging filled with tablets.