£109m drug network kingpin from Essex jailed
Investigators used encrypted messages to uncover a network that moved more than a tonne of cocaine into the UK and linked the operation to a corrupt courier employee
A man who ran a £109 million drugs network from Spain has been jailed for more than 16 years after investigators uncovered his role in importing and supplying cocaine, ecstasy and plans to produce amphetamine in the UK.
Steven Bullen, 51, from Marbella, Spain, formerly of Hornchurch, Essex, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday 9 July 2026 to 16 years and four months in prison.
His accomplice, Zak Archbold, 30, from Braintree, Essex, was jailed for 12 years for helping smuggle cocaine into the UK while working for a courier company.
Encrypted messages exposed drug operation
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said its investigation began through Operation Venetic, the UK response to the takedown of the encrypted phone network EncroChat by law enforcement agencies in France and the Netherlands.
Investigators pieced together thousands of messages sent by a user operating under the names “Domesticcar” and “Rocketspark”. They later identified the user as Bullen and found evidence that he had arranged the importation of 1.1 tonnes of cocaine from the Netherlands into the UK between August 2019 and May 2020.
The cocaine was estimated to have had a street value of £88 million.
Messages examined by officers also showed Bullen discussing the supply of 410kg of cocaine, worth an estimated £32.8 million, and 242kg of ecstasy, valued at £9.68 million.
Investigators also found discussions about producing amphetamine, referred to in messages as “trainers”. They said the chemicals available to Bullen could have been used to make up to 2,250kg of the drug, with an estimated street value of £11.25 million.
Courier worker helped cocaine pass through depot
The NCA said Bullen worked with Archbold, who was employed at a UPS depot in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex.
Archbold managed a team sorting parcels arriving at the depot and had information about which packages would be inspected by Border Force officers. Investigators said he helped Bullen move around 28 parcels containing up to 12kg of cocaine each through the depot without detection.
Messages showed Archbold was due to receive £750 for every kilogram of cocaine successfully smuggled, according to the NCA.
The agency said Archbold had initially told UPS he was involved in stealing parcels after being investigated internally, but evidence from the EncroChat messages linked him to Bullen’s drug operation.
Bullen’s EncroChat messages referred to a UPS manager nicknamed “King”, who had been suspended after an internal investigation. The NCA later identified the corrupt UPS employee as Zak Archbold.
Bullen tracked down to Spanish villa
NCA officers spent months examining messages to identify the person behind the encrypted accounts.
A breakthrough came when investigators found images of the user’s villa. With help from Spanish National Police and judicial authorities, they located Bullen in Spain.
He was arrested at his villa on 8 April 2025, where officers seized phones, a laptop and USB sticks. The NCA said these devices contained around 250 spreadsheets showing drugs supplied and money paid to Bullen.
Archbold was arrested the following day.
Bullen was extradited to the UK in August 2025 and pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court on 9 December 2025. Archbold was found guilty following a trial at the same court on 2 April 2026.
Official Reaction
Senior Investigating Officer, Steve Black, of the NCA said: “I believe Bullen felt unreachable because he was living in Spain and hiding his criminality on an encrypted phone. Bullen didn’t reckon on the NCA working with police forces across Europe to expose his multi-million-pound drug enterprise, to track him down and bring him back to the UK to face justice.
“Archbold was driven by greed. He thought that he had got away with smuggling cocaine, but our meticulous officers connected the dots between him and Bullen, and now he’s facing the consequences of his crime.
“Our international operation has put a stop to Bullen’s extensive cocaine business, ensuring that he is no longer making money from supplying some of the most harmful, life-wrecking drugs in the UK.
“I would like thank our partners, particularly the Crown Prosecution Service and the Spanish National Police and prosecution teams in Spain whose assistance was invaluable.”
Gemma Vincent from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Steven Bullen led an established organised crime group involved in the importation, production and supply, of controlled drugs. From his base in Spain he directed the widespread distribution of a staggering volume of drugs and the collection and movement of criminal money.
“Prosecutors worked closely with the National Crime Agency and our international parters to build a strong evidential case and secured his return to the UK. Faced with the strength of evidence, he pleaded guilty to all charges.
“Zak Archbold abused his position while working for a reputable courier company and facilitated the importation of cocaine from Europe into the UK.
“Their convictions would not have been possible without the combined efforts of prosecutors in the UK, Spain and France, Spanish law enforcement teams, and the NCA.
“Going forward, we will seek to confiscate their ill-gotten gains and we hope these sentences serve as a deterrent to other would be criminals.
“Drugs have a devastating and costly impact on society, and we will continue to work across borders to prosecute those who seek to flood our streets for their own gain.”