Copyright liverpoolecho
A drug boss who wore a £250k watch funded by the proceeds of a lucrative drug business has been ordered to hand back more than £1m. Craig McKenzie was jailed for 20 years in October 2023 for conspiring to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis from the Netherlands, Spain and North America. McKenzie used runners to move his drugs to customers mainly based in Liverpool and Manchester but as far afield as Wales and London. Evidence suggested he sent money from his drugs sales to notorious offenders in Spain and the United Arab Emirates through money laundering channels. McKenzie was arrested in February 2022 by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers investigating high-end drug dealing conducted through the EncroChat encrypted communications platform. Investigators waded through 11,043 messages between McKenzie's "Manlydesert" handle and his conspirators going from March 2020 to June 2020. They showed that McKenzie – who was acquitted of murder in December 2011 – had established close ties with prolific, wanted, international criminals and these relationships bought him access to other criminal conspiracies unfolding in the UK and overseas. McKenzie was convicted of conspiring to supply 45kg of cocaine and 14kg of heroin with a joint street value of £5m, and 90kg of cannabis with a street value of £900,000. During the three-month period in 2020, McKenzie also laundered approximately £400,000. To outward appearances McKenzie’s lavish lifestyle was funded by his property business Teflon Holdings. Despite only having a declared income of around £33,000 in 2021, the 43-year-old wore a £250,000 Richard Mille RM11-03 rose gold titanium watch, drove a brand new BMW X5 and a VW Tiguan R-Line. When NCA officers raided his house they also found £128,000 worth of designer goods and clothing and £33,000 in cash. McKenzie, of Hatchmere Close, Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester, has 18 separate convictions from 26 offences starting in 1996 when he was convicted of robbery at age 13. He was accused of murdering Amran Khan, aged 29, over a heroin debt in 2009 but was later cleared by a jury. Two co-accused were convicted of the murder. McKenzie appeared back before Manchester Crown Court today, Wednesday, where he was ordered to repay £1,115,901 after the court heard he had benefited to the tune of £1,920,656. He has three months to pay or faces another seven years in jail. McKenzie’s watch collection will be retained by the liquidator and sold off to go towards an outstanding tax bill. Dean Wallbank, NCA senior investigating officer, said: "Like pretty much all drugs traffickers Craig McKenzie was driven purely by trying to get rich . "He didn’t care at all about the death and misery that are inseparable from the trafficking and dealing of illegal drugs. McKenzie was arrogant to the point of calling one of his cover businesses Teflon Holdings because he believed that his crimes would not stick to him. "As well as building a rock-solid criminal case against him, my officers have gone after his money and this loss will really hurt him. The NCA will continue to do all we can at home and abroad to tackle criminals who supply class A drugs and bring huge harm to our communities." McKenzie’s brother Wayne McKenzie, 50, ran their family crime group with him. The former footballer, of Beckenham Avenue in Mossley Hill , was jailed for 30 years in February 2024 for firearms and drugs offences.
