A ringleader of a £1 million drug operation, captured on his own CCTV singing about “dirty cash,” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Bertie Payne, a 30-year-old from Birchington, Kent, led a gang of seven men who trafficked Class A drugs throughout the region from August 2024 to January the following year.
The group distributed £800,000 worth of narcotics across the eastern part of the country. Their stash included 24 kilograms of cocaine, 10 kilograms of ketamine, and 5,000 ecstasy pills.
To mask his illegal activities, Payne operated under the guise of a luxury watch business, fabricating invoices to process large amounts of money without raising suspicion.
Payne’s arrest occurred on January 24 of last year at Dartford’s Bluewater Shopping Centre. He was apprehended while preparing to hand over £50,000 in cash to an associate, Halim Lashi.
Both men were detained on suspicion of money laundering, prompting a full investigation that included a thorough search of the fraudulent watch business.
Police recovered CCTV footage from the office which showed Payne counting a large amount of money while singing the popular dance song ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks)’.
Payne admitted charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, and money laundering offences.
Bertie Payne (pictured), 30, from Birchington, Kent, headed up a seven-men gang which ran Class A substances across the area between August 2024 and January last year
Police later recovered CCTV footage (pictured) which showed Payne counting a large amount of money while singing the popular dance song ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks)’
Payne used the guise of a luxury watch business to cover up the deals, creating fake invoices to run through huge sums of cash undetected. Pictured: Watches seized by police
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday.
When he was first arrested alongside Lashi, police found them both wearing luxury watches, with more stashed in their vehicles.
A warrant to search his home was executed by police several months later, in April last year.
Officers bashed down his door under cover of darkness before he was arrested again.
Detectives from Kent and Essex Police’s Serious Crime Directorate then used analysis from Payne’s mobile phone to lead them to the rest of the gang.
More than 2,100 text messages were found to have been sent between Payne and a contact known as ‘PBoss’.
This was later identified as a man named Peter Nicholls, 51, from Ramsgate, Kent, who was arrested on April 3 last year.
Police concluded he was Payne’s right-hand man and that he worked with several others to move Class A and B drugs all over east Kent.
Lashi, Payne and Nicholls were all involved with moving the illicit money, which included the use of cryptocurrency.
Nicholls was also found to have used the home of a woman named Karen Gordon, to store some of the drugs before they were moved on.
Gordon, 52, also from Ramsgate, was later arrested.
After the comprehensive investigation, officers also arrested Massimo Fierro, Harry Hathaway, Mitchell Laing, Reece Stovell and Klein Taylor.
Along with Nicholls, they were all charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Nicholls was also accused of conspiracy to supply ketamine, and money laundering offences.
Fierro, 28, from Birchington, was also charged with conspiracy to supply ketamine.
And Lashi, 31, from Croydon, south London, was also charged with money laundering offences.
Each of the defendants admitted their charges apart from Lashi, who denied the charge of money laundering.
He was found guilty at a previous trial in October last year.
The dealers supplied and distributed £800,000 worth of drugs throughout the east of the country. Pictured: Drugs linked to the ring
This included 24kg of cocaine, 10kg of ketamine and 5,000 ecstasy tablets. Pictured: Drugs linked to the ring
Payne was first arrested (pictured) on January 24 last year at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Dartford, as he was about to hand another man, Halim Lashi, cash worth £50,000
A warrant to search his home was executed by police several months later, in April last year. Pictured: Police entering Payne’s property
Officers bashed down his door under cover of darkness before he was arrested again (pictured)
He admitted charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, and money laundering offences. Pictured: Cash linked to the ring
Analysis of Payne’s mobile phone showed more than 2,100 text messages had been exchanged between Payne and a contact known as ‘PBoss’, later identified as a man named Peter Nicholls (pictured)
Nicholls was also found to have used the home of a woman named Karen Gordon (left), to store some of the drugs before they were moved on. She was later arrested. After the comprehensive investigation, officers also arrested Massimo Fierro (right), Harry Hathaway, Mitchell Laing, Reece Stovell and Klein Taylor
Stovell (left), 29, of Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, was jailed for six years, while Hathaway (right), 32, from Broadstairs, was sentenced to five years and three months
Taylor (left), 29, of Ramsgate, was sentenced to three years and four months in jail, while Laing (right), 28, from Thanet, was jailed for two years and nine months
Payne was joined by Nicholls, Gordon and Lashi at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday.
Nicholls was ordered to serve eight years in prison, Lashi was handed a two-year suspended sentence and Gordon was jailed for four years and three months.
The rest of the group were sentenced on Monday.
Stovell, 29, of Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, was jailed for six years, while Hathaway, 32, from Broadstairs, was sentenced to five years and three months.
Taylor, 29, of Ramsgate, was sentenced to three years and four months in jail, while Laing, 28, from Thanet, was jailed for two years and nine months.
And finally, Fierro was jailed for two years and eight months.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable, Martin Lacey said: ‘Payne went to great lengths to conceal his criminality by not only running the money through what appeared to be a legitimate business, but he also recruited others to handle the drugs in an effort to distance himself from the criminality.
‘This was a large-scale operation which saw over £800,000 of drugs being distributed and supplied throughout east Kent.
‘Many vulnerable drug users were targeted which not only affects their lives but that of their family, and blights local communities.
‘Payne thought his operation was sophisticated and that he wouldn’t get found out but his sentencing shows that crime doesn’t pay and that if you are involved in criminality you will be caught and you will face the consequences.’
