A group of British soldiers sold almost £100,000 of cocaine to fellow military personnel, buying designer brands on the proceeds, a court has heard.
A kilo of the drug was sourced in west London and sold by the four members of 5th Battalion, The Rifles, at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire over a near three-year period.
One of the soldiers bought a Rolex watch and Christian Louboutin shoes and boasted of having to do some “Gordon Ramsay magic” by cutting the cocaine with a caffeine product before selling it on, the court heard.
Another ran a payday loan scheme to colleagues, which the court heard may have contributed to the poor state of mind of a 20-year-old soldier who took his own life.
Bulford military court heard Rifleman Claudius Scott orchestrated the operation with Rifleman Ryan Saedi his second in command. L/Cpl Bradley Hesketh and Rifleman Ashleigh Walker were “trusted dealers”.
Scott and Saedi, both 31, earned more than £40,000 each. They, Hesketh, 27, and Walker, 29, all admitted conspiracy to supply drugs.
Will Martin, prosecuting, told the court the “network” of drug dealing took place between January 2018 and December 2020.
He said: “Scott, Saedi, Walker and Hesketh all played a role in supplying to other service personnel. The conspiracy was straight forward. Cocaine would be sourced from west London and sold on to service personnel. It was well known they were drug dealers.”
The court heard they cut their product with a Pro Plus caffeine product and on one occasion when cocaine arrived, Hesketh texted an accomplice: “We’re going to need to do some magic work to it – some Gordon Ramsay work”, a reference to the cutting process.
In another exchange read out in court, Scott messaged Hesketh expressing concern about his lack of discretion after he was spotted wearing a Rolex and new Christian Louboutin shoes in the nearby town of Amesbury. Hesketh told Scott to “chill” but added: “My bad.”
The court heard there was a “culture of money lending at high interest rates” within the battalion. Saedi had implemented a “double bubble” loan scheme, which required cash-strapped colleagues who borrowed from him to repay double the amount on their next pay day.
He would “persistently chase down” those who owed him money, encourage them to take out other loans to pay his off and threaten them.
In a text to a relative, he said his borrowers were giving him sob stories – “their cat died, they got to pay for the funeral” but he added: “I don’t give two fucks.”
One of his customers was Rifleman Nathan Worner, who killed himself in May 2020.
After Worner missed a payment, Saedi found out his home address and told him: “Bruv send me my money or I’m coming to your house.”
In a statement read to the court, Worner’s mother, Alison Blackwell, said she was “haunted” by the thought of his influence on her son’s death.
“I believe their greed and intimidation would have at least contributed to his state of mind,” she said. In relation to his loan scheme, Saedi admitted conduct prejudicial to good order.
The four are being sentenced on Thursday.
