British Expats' Thai Villa Xanax Empire Lands them in Jail

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of West Midlands Police

 

A British couple, living the high life in Thailand, has been slapped with a 10-year prison sentence for orchestrating a vast drugs empire. Brian Pitts, 30, and Katie Harlow, 27, masterminded a multi-million-pound operation, producing and distributing fake Xanax pills via the dark web, amassing an astonishing £4 million (176 million baht).

 

Their luxurious Thai villa between 2018 and 2019 was a façade for their sinister dealings. Behind the glamorous exterior lay a massive counterfeit pill operation, churning out up to 11 million fake Xanax tablets from makeshift labs scattered across the West Midlands. Using cryptocurrency, they cleverly concealed their profits, laundering dirty money through bitcoin.

 

Their glamorous crime spree met its end after a five-year international investigation, championed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Ltd. The couple's jet-set lifestyle crumbled in August 2019 as they landed in the UK from Thailand, smugly carting designer gear and Rolex watches.

 

The harrowing details of their scheming were laid out at Wolverhampton Crown Court on March 27. Pitts, the brains from Bilston, West Midlands, admitted to conspiracy to supply class C drugs and trademark offences.

 

 

 

His confession saw him sentenced to eight years behind bars. Meanwhile, Harlow, residing with Pitts in a plain semi-detached house, admitted to money laundering and received a sentence of two years and one month.

 

The scale of their operation was unearthed in a police raid at a Tipton shed, housing a counterfeit Xanax factory, complete with an industrial powder mixer. Meanwhile, a Wolverhampton garage inspection revealed a tablet press machine, metal pill casts, powders, and even a handwritten recipe list.

 

Picture courtesy of West Midlands Police

 

Detectives tracked their purchase of four pill press machines from a UK firm, costing £30,000 (1.32 million baht), capable of churning out 10,000 pills an hour. Notably, a significant shipment of Alprazolam and analogue Adinazolam powder from China, along with various bulking agents, was intercepted.

 

Their courtroom drama extends beyond Pitts and Harlow. Three other gang members were handed hefty sentences, while five more await judgment. Lee Lloyd, 48, from Tipton, received seven years and two months for conspiracy to supply Class C drugs.

 

Kyle Smith, 26, from Willenhall, was given four years, while Mark Bayley, 63, from Wolverhampton, was jailed for six years and five months for possession with intent to supply Class B drugs.

 

Speaking on the case, Jonathan Kelleher from the Crown Prosecution Service underlined the potential havoc caused by the gang's reckless pursuit of profit. "This was a case of fake medicines being produced on an industrial scale, with significant potential harm to the public," he declared.

 

Detective Inspector Dave Hollies of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit added, "The scale of production of these counterfeit tablets ran in the millions." The gang’s acquisition of over two tonnes of bulking agent, compounded with 220kg of active ingredients, highlighted the chilling efficiency of their operation.

 

Xanax, powerful for treating anxiety and panic attacks, isn't available on the NHS, though it’s prescribed privately in the UK. The gang's counterfeit concoctions could have wreaked havoc, posing an insidious threat now neutralised.

 

For Pitts and Harlow, the game is over. Their lush lifestyle, funded by crime, now stands as a stark warning about the risks of dabbling in the perilous world of international drug trafficking.

 

Based on a story by The Thaiger

 

-- 2025-03-28

 

 

[frank83628]

So the only link to Thailand is they rented a Villa. None of the operation happened in here.

Pretty clever too, not sure what havoc it would have caused. 

[BritManToo]

Interesting, 10 years in jail for copyright infringement.

The drug they sold was real, but not made by Pfizer.

 

"Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group"

[2long]

Yeah, because drug corporations (such as Pfizer) are purer than driven snow, aren't they?

None of them have ever done anything immoral...

[G Rex]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Interesting, 10 years in jail for copyright infringement.

The drug they sold was real, but not made by Pfizer.

 

 

You don't want to mess with big Pharma!  They control the show.

[Wonderyenta]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Interesting, 10 years in jail for copyright infringement.

The drug they sold was real, but not made by Pfizer.

 

"Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group"

Doesn’t make it right though. Selling via the DarkWeb is a clue it’s wrong and a criminal act.

[Yagoda]

What a tough sentence! Damn the Brits are harsh! A whole 8 years, wow.

[Gottfrid]

29 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

So the only link to Thailand is they rented a Villa. None of the operation happened in here.

Pretty clever too, not sure what havoc it would have caused. 

 

19 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Interesting, 10 years in jail for copyright infringement.

The drug they sold was real, but not made by Pfizer.

 

"Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group"

 

8 minutes ago, 2long said:

Yeah, because drug corporations (such as Pfizer) are purer than driven snow, aren't they?

None of them have ever done anything immoral...

 

See fantastic. Directly in the first 3 posts the always entertaining apologizing technique for the Brits started.

Do you guys who made the posts above realize it´s a criminal offense, or are you incapable of understanding such?

[brianburi]

9 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

What a tough sentence! Damn the Brits are harsh! A whole 8 years, wow.

you and your best buddy Susan,  would last 2 mins in a Brit clink.....

[Yagoda]

6 minutes ago, brianburi said:

you and your best buddy Susan,  would last 2 mins in a Brit clink.....

What does that childish flame have to do with the apparent leniency of the British judicial system? Who is Susan? How do you know about what its like in a "clink".

 

Stroll on back with your sad and confused emoji. Maybe someday you can add something intelligent to a conversation.

[Liverpool Lou]

41 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Interesting, 10 years in jail for copyright infringement.

The drug they sold was real, but not made by Pfizer.

Their product was not real.  They were not selling Alprazolam, they were selling their own concoction that included some Alprazolam as an ingredient but fraudulently represented it as Xanax.

[frank83628]

24 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

What a tough sentence! Damn the Brits are harsh! A whole 8 years, wow.

Under 4yrs you do half, over 4 you do 2/3rds. Also non violent offences are lower category, so possibility of early release due to over crowding.

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Their product was not real.  They were not selling Alprazolam, they were selling their own concoction that included some Alprazolam as an ingredient but fraudulently represented it as Xanax.

Most of any commercial drug is bulking powder.

And to be selling that much, it must have been a decent product.

[Liverpool Lou]

8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

14 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Their product was not real.  They were not selling Alprazolam, they were selling their own concoction that included some Alprazolam as an ingredient but fraudulently represented it as Xanax.

Most of any commercial drug is bulking powder.

And to be selling that much, it must have been a decent product.

Still doesn't make it real.   Perhaps it was a decent counterfeit bought by those on the dark web who didn't care about its quality or wouldn't know a real Xanax if it jumped up and bit them.  

[lordgrinz]

Let me guess, the RTP keeps the spoils left behind in Thailand?

[Liverpool Lou]

3 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

Let me guess, the RTP keeps the spoils left behind in Thailand?

Why would that happen when the RTP were not involved in the case that was investigated and prosecuted in England?   Presumably, you're referring to the villa that was not stated to be owned by the couple so no reason for any agency to acquire it.

[connda]

Do stupid stuff, win stupid prizes.  Enjoy Thai prison.  Remember - they use to shoot people for doing that.  10 years is a hand-slap.  But then again, it may be a death sentence.  10 years in a Thai prison.  Have fun!

[brianburi]

5 minutes ago, connda said:

Do stupid stuff, win stupid prizes.  Enjoy Thai prison.  Remember - they use to shoot people for doing that.  10 years is a hand-slap.  But then again, it may be a death sentence.  10 years in a Thai prison.  Have fun!

You need to read the OP ... 

Plus Yagoda's post,  him being an expert on UK prisons.......oh and emojis,, 

[ArnieP]

6 minutes ago, connda said:

Do stupid stuff, win stupid prizes.  Enjoy Thai prison.  Remember - they use to shoot people for doing that.  10 years is a hand-slap.  But then again, it may be a death sentence.  10 years in a Thai prison.  Have fun!

They appear to have been tried, convicted and banged up in the UK not LoS.

 

[Woke to Sounds]

Kudos to them, a genius operation.

 

But they are also scum.

 

Toss them into the cooler for life.

[norfolkandchance]

17 minutes ago, connda said:

Do stupid stuff, win stupid prizes.  Enjoy Thai prison.  Remember - they use to shoot people for doing that.  10 years is a hand-slap.  But then again, it may be a death sentence.  10 years in a Thai prison.  Have fun!

Delete Thai prison insert British prison.

[frank83628]

53 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

 

 

 

See fantastic. Directly in the first 3 posts the always entertaining apologizing technique for the Brits started.

Do you guys who made the posts above realize it´s a criminal offense, or are you incapable of understanding such?

Copyright and class c,not exactly injecting kids with fentanyl, is it but, in gottfrids world they should face the noose after firing squad.

[ElwoodP]

Bickering posts removed.

Please stop!

[Baht Simpson]

It's a long time since I worked in anti-money laundering but the standard sentences then were 14 years for serious offenses and  2 years for collusion to launder money. 8 years seems extremely lenient.  

 

[nauseus]

40 minutes ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Kudos to them, a genius operation.

 

But they are also scum.

 

Toss them into the cooler for life.

 

Like klink kudos?

[nauseus]

2 hours ago, frank83628 said:

So the only link to Thailand is they rented a Villa. None of the operation happened in here.

Pretty clever too, not sure what havoc it would have caused. 

 

Seems so. The story is misleading. The crime was committed and tried in the UK. These people were just living here for a while. I wonder where else they went?

[Upnotover]

1 hour ago, lordgrinz said:

Let me guess, the RTP keeps the spoils left behind in Thailand?

Spoils?  6 years unpaid rent and some dirty washing most likely.

[save the frogs]

13 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Interesting, 10 years in jail for copyright infringement.

The drug they sold was real, but not made by Pfizer.

 

"Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group"

 

Not just copyright infringement.

Anything made in a secret lab could be laced with poison.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

2 hours ago, 2long said:

Yeah, because drug corporations (such as Pfizer) are purer than driven snow, aren't they?

None of them have ever done anything immoral...

Besides letting people die who can't afford their prescriptions. Price fixing. Nothing too serious. 

[Jonathan Swift]

2 hours ago, save the frogs said:

 

Not just copyright infringement.

Anything made in a secret lab could be laced with poison.

 

Killing your customers is bad for business. But you're right - there are no ethics about what they put into it, just like the booze with methanol which poisons a lot of Thai people.