**Caught at Last! 🎉 A Fugitive’s Time on the Run Ends**
After years on the run, Kertis Johnson, 41, is finally facing justice! This fugitive, who thought he could escape by fleeing to sunny Spain, has been brought back to the UK and sentenced to over 14 years in prison. His crime? Johnson was a major player in a drugs operation flooding South Wales with illegal substances from October 2019 to June 2020.
Operating under the alias “BrownVelvet” on EncroChat, Johnson played a crucial role in a network dealing over 72kg of cocaine, worth around £2.6 million. He wasn’t just dealing cocaine—he had his hands in the heroin trade too, handling up to 2kg of the substance. 💰
Using tricky tactics like stash houses and vehicles with hidden compartments, Johnson’s operation was sophisticated, to say the least. But when his plans began to crumble with the arrest of one of his couriers in August 2020, he bolted to Spain. His freedom was short-lived, as Spanish authorities nabbed him in July 2024, sending him back to face the music in the UK in August.
Prosecutor Robin Rouch highlighted the scale of Johnson’s dealings, while his defence, Simon Csoka KC, argued Johnson’s role was more of a “local distributor” rather than the head of a massive syndicate. Johnson, with 11 prior convictions, is said to have had a change of heart and now claims to have turned a new leaf. 🤔
Judge Eugene Egan, however, had no illusions about Johnson’s past, sentencing him for his “leading role” in the conspiracy. Justice served! 🚔💼
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