Rise of flash ‘daddy’s girl’ gangsters who hide drugs empires behind tanning salons… and why they make perfect mob heirs

WHEN crime lord Peter Wrafter was jailed for guns and drug offences, there was only one person he saw fit to take over his empire – his daughter Natalie.

Before long, the glamorous blonde was controlling a huge slice of the drugs trade across the North of England, as one of a number of ‘daddy’s girl’ gangsters making their name in Britain’s cut-throat underworld.

From the Kray Twins to Pablo Escobar, organised crime has always been seen as a man’s world, to which the women in their lives turn a blind eye.

But not any more. Research cited by the United Nations found a growing number of examples of women holding various positions in organised criminal groups – from leaders to traffickers and recruiters as well as lawyers, messengers and accountants.

And it appears the bad apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, with some daddy’s girls in prime position to become the ‘Queenpins’ of their family’s criminal enterprise.

Retired Met Detective Peter Bleksley explains: “Back when I was serving, those involved in serious organised crime put their wives and daughters on a pedestal, understandably and often rightly so.

“There they would spend their time going to lunch, going shopping, largely blissfully unaware of what exactly it was that their husbands did, because they claimed to be ‘businessmen’ – often with some kind of front like second-hand car dealing, property, that they could claim was how they made their money.

“On many an occasion we would go crashing through somebody’s front door and the villains would say, ‘I will tell you what I need to know but just don’t go near my wife and kids’.

“Things have changed though. There is money to be made, many people are making a lot of money from serious organised crime and women want a slice of the pie.”

Peter says it makes financial sense for convicted gangsters to try to keep it in the family – whether that be by promoting a son or a daughter.

“If they know where the cash is hidden, if they know where it is being laundered, if they know how to lay their hands on it and in some way shape or form how to reinvent the criminal empire after an element of it has been taken out, then they will.”

Peter Wrafter was a long-established Doncaster drug dealer with connections across the North of England.

But he was arrested in 2019 for possession of a revolver and a kilogram of heroin and subsequently jailed for 12 years, meaning 31-year-old daughter Natalie was now at the helm of his empire.

Dad Peter already had a relationship with Shazia Din, the matriarch of the DIN OCG across the Pennines in Manchester, so Natalie quickly stepped in to keep the business going.

Din, 42, along with her sister Abia Din, 45, and son Hassan, 21, ran the Beauty Booth, a legitimate company supplying mascara, lipstick and body lotion via Amazon.

But it wasn’t beauty products that were funding the family’s luxury lifestyle and penchant for Rolex watches and flash cars.

The business was a front for money laundering and drugs and the Dins had been supplying Peter with heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines, which were then distributed throughout South Yorkshire-based networks.

With Peter locked up, Natalie took up the reins – but not for long. 

A month after Peter Wrafter’s arrest, Shazia Din and Natalie Wrafter were seen by a surveillance operation exchanging thousands of pounds worth of drugs money in the car park of Doncaster Prison, prior to visiting Peter, who was an inmate.

Following several police raids and surveillance operations across South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester and in 2020 the gang of 18 eventually received jail terms totalling 139.5 years.

Shazia Din was jailed for 15 years for conspiracy to supply drugs while Natalie Wrafter got 11 years and three months for the same offence.

But the Dins and the Wrafters weren’t the first criminal overlords to keep it in the family.

Tanning boss

Drug Queenpin Leanne Duffin had the perfect front for her drugs empire – the neon pink and green Cosmopolitan sunbed shop in Leyland, Lancashire.

Despite her ‘out-there’ image with bright pink hair, tattoos, hot pants and crop tops, the funky salon helped Leanne create the image of a respectable business woman – but the reality was she was a drugs baroness in cahoots with her dad and the sunbed shop was just a front for money laundering.

Instead of taking the reins from her dad Brian, it is believed Leanne was the mastermind behind the operation, with her father being one of her trusted lieutenants.

“This is one of the first [drug dealing cases] where we’ve had a daughter running the show with her dad on board as well,” Detective Sergeant Keith Duckworth from the intelligence unit at Chorley Police told Vice.

“That is unusual. Telephony showed that Leanne was definitely the one who was in control. It’s more common for a male to be leading.”

Over the years Leanne and her syndicate flooded the streets of Chorley and South Ribble with cocaine and cannabis before extending operations to Preston.

This is one of the first [drug dealing cases] where we’ve had a daughter running the show with her dad on board as well

Detective Sergeant Keith Duckworth

She is believed to have lured vulnerable young people into addiction before forcing them to become dealers to repay their debts. 

Leanne and her gang used Cosmopolitan Tanning Salon as a respectable front for their criminal activities, as she enjoyed the high life, driving around in fancy cars and posing on Facebook. 

But following a covert police operation lasting more than 12 months, Leanne and her gang were arrested. 

Police described Leanne as a “daddy’s girl” and her main concern when arrested was the welfare of 66-year-old Brian asking officers to make sure he was okay and got his medication.

Leanne was jailed for eight years in 2018, while dad Brian was sentenced to six years behind bars. Other members of the gang were jailed for a total of eight years and eight months.

The pair were then hit by proceeds of crime proceedings – but to the frustration of the authorities it seemed all the cash had gone.

A court heard that Brian Duffin had benefitted from his daughter’s drug ring to the tune of almost £400,000. But the only assets available for the authorities to seize – including a Range Rover – were worth a total of just £12,284.66.

Leanne was found to have benefitted to £370,120 from her crimes, but the only assets available for the authorities to seize were worth just £6,309.26.

There is one thing that hurts a criminal more than locking them up, and that is if they come out and they are skint. That really hurts

Peter Bleksley

And Peter Bleksley says hitting the gangsters in the pocket hurts them more than jail time.

“Prison is regarded as an occupational hazard for criminals, and as long as they can keep their wealth, they will accept five, ten, 15 years in prison if they can come out and enjoy their wealth once again,” he explains.

“It is all about the cash and that is why proceeds of crime investigations are so important, but unfortunately they are not as common or as thorough as they should be.

“There is one thing that hurts a criminal more than locking them up, and that is if they come out and they are skint. That really hurts.”

‘StiffNinja‘

Faye Dunn was a former professional footballer and respectable businesswoman until Covid hit and she became involved in the criminal underworld.

But she had a good teacher and eventual partner in crime – her dad Michael, who had a string of previous convictions including burglary and importing drugs.

The mum-of-two from Huyton, Merseyside, ran a restaurant and a children’s play centre, but became the accountant for an organised crime group and smuggled ill-gotten cash abroad.

Dad Michael Dunn, who had previously been jailed for nine years in Portugal for drug importation charges, handled and supplied drugs on his daughter’s behalf and arranged meetings to transfer cash. 

In total, Faye Dunn – who had played for Tranmere Rovers and England – was estimated to have been involved in the supply of at least 24kg of cannabis and was said to have “played a leading role within the criminal organisation”. She also laundered £654,800 of dirty money from December 2019 onwards.

Meanwhile, Michael Dunn was described as having a “significant” role. He was directly involved in the supply of 5kg of drugs in just over five weeks before ceasing his involvement. 

Faye Dunn was arrested at Manchester Airport in June 2022,  while her dad was arrested the following month.

They both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and money laundering. 

Dunn cried in the dock as she was jailed for three years and nine months. She began wailing as she was taken down the cells and said: “I can’t believe it.”

Dad Michael, then 68, had significant health issues and was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.

In 2023 Faye was subject to a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing and was ordered to repay her ill-gotten gains. 

The court heard she had benefitted to the tune of £152,953.96 from her involvement in organised crime while her assets stood at £69,747.70.

She was ordered to forfeit her house, a Peugeot car worth £1,085, £2,000 of jewellery and small sums held in bank, pension, investment and cryptocurrency accounts or face extra jail time.

Wives and daughters are becoming more and more prevalent in serious and organised crime

Peter Bleksley

And Peter Bleksley says the authorities will no longer turn a blind eye to the potential involvement of wives, girlfriends and daughters in organised crime.

He says: “We often suspected that wives, daughters and sons knew more than they would allude to.

“But when you get the head of a criminal organisation, the dad, saying, ‘I will take the rap, focus on me, leave them out of it’… sometimes that is an easier win and something we would go along with.

“But it would appear that wives and daughters are becoming more and more prevalent in serious and organised crime, so then they will have to be viewed in the same way as the men.

“If they are culpable, if they are guilty and involved then they need to have their collars felt and be stuck in front of a court as well.”