‘Untouchable’ drugs baron who ran international dealing ring from mansion in Thailand jailed after being arrested at IKEA
Craig Allen, 50, from Sheffield, S Yorks, sentenced to 20 years
Dubbed 'ginger ninja' and 'little fella', he made £5,000 a week dealing drugs
Arrested at gunpoint outside IKEA in Amsterdam last October
In his Dutch flat, police found 3kg cocaine, 1kg heroin, €425,000, cash-counting machine, scales and rubber gloves
By NICK ENOCH

LONDON: -- An ‘untouchable’ drugs baron who ran a worldwide heroin and cocaine dealing ring from a mansion in Thailand is facing prison today after being arrested at IKEA.

Craig Allen, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, had convictions dating back to 1975 and 'thought he was above the law'.
But now, the 50-year-old - nicknamed the 'ginger ninja' and 'little fella' - has been jailed for 20 years.

His drugs operation made him £5,000 a week, which was used to fund a lavish lifestyle at the luxury estate he shared with his Thai wife and child.

However, his empire crumbled when he was arrested at gunpoint - outside IKEA in Amsterdam - by Dutch police last October, and then extradited to the UK.

When police searched his Dutch flat, they found 3kg of cocaine, 1kg of heroin, €425,000 (£350,000) in cash, scales, a cash-counting machine, rubber gloves, a vacuum-packing machine and other drugs paraphernalia.

Full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2628096/Drugs-baron-jailed-arrested-IKEA.html#ixzz31kZDGlYM

[dmail]2014-05-15[/dmail]

He's a small fry in the drug world, but thanks for the headline anyway.

Another quality person, hiding in the criminals paradise!

5000k a week is a small fry! But let's hope he gets a nice long stretch in a government B and B and is than barred from Thailand.

Watch your back Mr Allen!

5K a week = "drug baron"? Me thinks not.

He's a small fry in the drug world, but thanks for the headline anyway.

At least there's one less now. I wonder if they'll be able to seize any of his assets from the drug dealing. Unlikely I would have thought. £5000 a week is huge but it would go a long way living in Thailand and I suspect if he wasn't caught then it would have grown.

5000k a week is a small fry! But let's hope he gets a nice long stretch in a government B and B and is than barred from Thailand.

A drug baron shopping at IKEA

5K a week = "drug baron"? Me thinks not.

Off topic, but what bird is that in your avatar? It's a lovely little creature.

Will he be incarcerated in an IKEA flat pack prison cell.

5K a week = "drug baron"? Me thinks not.

Off topic, but what bird is that in your avatar? It's a lovely little creature.

Banded Kingfisher. Taken in Kao Yai National Park, Thailand if I remember correctly.

Not much information about the "Thai mansion" in this Thai reprinted article. No information or interest by the Thai press in smoking out the banking connection mentioned in the Bangkok funds transfer. Who are the Thai Mr. Bigs in the Bangkok money laundering network here? That should be the news in the Thai press plus they should be seizing the "Thai mansion."

Finding the exit at IKEA is more difficult than breaking out of prison..

Drug Baron - 5k per week - I wouldn't call this a baron, as far as I heard in news and stories about drug cartels a good street cocaine dealer in a wealthy western city makes 10k per month.

Also where is the hot news about Thailand? Yes he has a thai wife and lived here. But his business seems to be in Europe and he was arrested a half year ago in Europe...also the news said he settled to Netherlands already 2010...don't blame Thailand now that they allowed him to stay here...

5K a week = "drug baron"? Me thinks not.

Off topic, but what bird is that in your avatar? It's a lovely little creature.

Banded Kingfisher. Taken in Kao Yai National Park, Thailand if I remember correctly.

Thanks, and to put this back on topic; what do you think of the Jail Bird's pic?

Shopping at IKEA, I make no wonder he was arrested.

Another quality person, hiding in the criminals paradise!

Wonder if he was made to report/visa run when in Thailand

Ginger Ninja.

Clever.

5K a week = "drug baron"? Me thinks not.

Off topic, but what bird is that in your avatar? It's a lovely little creature.

Banded Kingfisher. Taken in Kao Yai National Park, Thailand if I remember correctly.

5555 - I thought you were referring to the large breasted money-sucker in mcfish's avatar pic !

30 years ago - the amount he was caught with would rank him as a low-to-middle level dealer, nowhere near a "baron". I knew a guy in Amsterdam in the mid-80s. Went to meet him one day at his place. He was out so I was chatting with his girlfriend when he arrived, through the kitchen window from the roof of the next building. He was carrying 2 large shopping bags (like the large Big C bags) and they were full of blocks of hash.

Not sure how many kilos, but they were all formed/wrapped to the same dimensions as the currency (the idea being you just slipped a package into your wallet with some bills on either side). Each package was something like 50 grams or something. He tossed one to me and told me I should take it back to my base (free) and let my buddies try it, and if they liked it tell them where they could get more. I declined as I wasn't about to try and smuggle that back into Germany, and the military had a very strict zero tolerance drug policy (even being caught with unused paraphernalia would get you busted and booted from the military in those days !).

(Good thing I said no, as I got stripped searched on the train after crossing into Germany. Left me standing in the cabin in my underwear just as we pulled into the next station ! Oddly enough, they did search my wallet and check out the bills, even pulled the credit and business cards out and checked each one individually. Then they brought the dog in. So glad that I didn't do drugs or take buddy up on his offer !)

Anyways, by his reckoning, he was a low-level dealer as he only dealt in weed and hash, and rarely more than 20kgs at a time, which put him just above most of the coffee shops in Amsterdam at the time. To get to "mid-level" he would have had to start dealing in hard drugs and move 5 times as much weed/hash.

Parts of Amsterdam 30 years ago make today's Beach Road in Pattaya look like family friendly Disney land. There were parts of the city that the locals wouldn't go into alone, even in the middle of the day. At night they wouldn't go anywhere near those areas even in large (5+) groups.

Just imagine, having so much money you need to buy a machine to count it.

Nobody in the drug business live happliy ever after. They always get caught, it's just a matter of time.

20 Years in Prison, just for that level of drug dealing??? <deleted> Thats just wrong...

He's a small fry in the drug world, but thanks for the headline anyway.

At least there's one less now. I wonder if they'll be able to seize any of his assets from the drug dealing. Unlikely I would have thought. £5000 a week is huge but it would go a long way living in Thailand and I suspect if he wasn't caught then it would have grown.

This makes me sad

20 Years in Prison, just for that level of drug dealing??? <deleted> Thats just wrong...

You reckon, do you not think about the number of lives that have been affected bye his trade...?

Hardly a drugs baron lol.... It looks like Thai Visa have lifted this word for word from the Daily Mail website, a a paper known for its drama queen style reporting.

He was bigger than 5000 a week though, I have no idea why they plucked that figure out of the air. He has made millions. Like I say though, hardly a 'baron'.

He's a small fry in the drug world, but thanks for the headline anyway.

At least there's one less now. I wonder if they'll be able to seize any of his assets from the drug dealing. Unlikely I would have thought. £5000 a week is huge but it would go a long way living in Thailand and I suspect if he wasn't caught then it would have grown.

" I wonder if they'll be able to seize any of his assets from the drug dealing. Unlikely I would have thought."

I think you are incorrect. There are sweeping powers now to confiscate anything from these types of criminals

A drug baron shopping at IKEA

Perhaps cold turkey rehab will help him get it together.

I guess having a money counting machine is a bit of a give away

A drug baron shopping at IKEA

Perhaps cold turkey rehab will help him get it together.

I guess having a money counting machine is a bit of a give away

And the Kgs of coke and nearly half a million dollars isn't? But holy crap, hide the money counting machine

Craig Allen, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, had convictions dating back to 1975

So he has convictions from when he was 11 years old?