The kingpin of a £109 million drugs network has been jailed, after a National Crime Agency-led international investigation unearthed his criminality.

Steven Bullen, 51, of Marbella, Spain – formerly of Hornchurch, Essex – was today [9 July] sentenced to 16 years and four months in prison at Southwark Crown Court, for importing, producing and supplying large quantities of cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine over a 10-month period.

Corrupt courier company employee Zak Archbold, 30, of Braintree, Essex was also jailed for 12 years for conspiring with Bullen to smuggle cocaine into the UK.

The NCA’s investigation began as part of Operation Venetic, the UK response to the takedown of Encrochat – an encrypted phone service for criminals – by counterparts in France and the Netherlands. Officers were also assisted by the Spanish National Police and judicial authorities in Spain to close the net on Bullen.

The NCA meticulously pieced together thousands of messages sent and received on Encrochat by a user with the handles ‘Domesticcar’ and ‘Rocketspark’, to identify that the individual had smuggled 1.1 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of £88 million into the UK between August 2019 and May 2020.

The messages revealed that the user – who officers later identified was expat Bullen – had been involved in the importation of cocaine via the Netherlands to the UK. The drug was to be supplied across the UK.

NCA investigators also identified that Bullen had colluded with a corrupt UPS employee to smuggle cocaine from the Netherlands. Bullen shared messages about a UPS manager nicknamed “King”, who had been suspended following an internal investigation by the company.

NCA investigators liaised the UPS who told them that an employee – Archbold – had been sacked after an internal investigation at their depot in Stanford-Le-Hope.

Archbold had told his employer that he was involved in the theft of parcels, however NCA investigators – assisted by the revealing Encrochat messages – proved that Archbold had in fact helped Bullen to slip around 28 parcels containing up to 12kg cocaine each through the depot.

Archbold managed a team sorting packages as they arrived at the depot. As team leader, Archbold received advanced notice of which parcels would be inspected by Border Force officers and he told Bullen that he’d be able to swap the labels to ensure the cocaine packages went undetected.

Encrochat messages revealed that Archbold was due to be paid £750 for each kilogram of cocaine successfully smuggled.

Within Bullen’s Encrochat messages, officers also found photos of ledgers detailing the prices of cocaine and ecstasy that he was supplying.

The messages revealed that Bullen had conspired to supply 410kg of the cocaine he had imported – with a street value of £32.8 million – and 242kg of ecstasy with a street value of £9.68 million.

Bullen also discussed recipes for producing “trainers” – slang for amphetamine – and detailed large quantities of chemicals he had access to, which officers calculated would enable him to produce up to 2,250kg of the drug with a street value of £11.25 million.

NCA officers painstakingly pored over each message sent to and by ‘Domesticcar’ and ‘Rocketspark’ for clues to the user’s identity.

They made a significant breakthrough when they found images of the user’s villa. With the assistance of Spanish National Police and judicial teams in Spain, they were able to locate Bullen in Spain, who was subsequently arrested at his villa on 8 April 2025.

The officers seized phones, a laptop and USB sticks at the address, from which they recovered around 250 spreadsheets detailing drugs supplied and money paid to Bullen.

NCA officers arrested Archbold the next day.

Bullen was extradited back to the UK in August 2025 and immediately charged by officers upon his arrival. Faced with the evidence against him, Bullen pleaded guilty to his crimes at Southwark Crown Court on 9 December 2025.

Archbold was found guilty of conspiring to import Class A drugs on 2 April this year, following a trial at the same court.

Senior Investigating Officer, Steve Black, of the NCA said:

“I believe Bullen felt unreachable because he was living in Spain and hiding his criminality on an encrypted phone. Bullen didn’t reckon on the NCA working with police forces across Europe to expose his multi-million-pound drug enterprise, to track him down and bring him back to the UK to face justice.

“Archbold was driven by greed. He thought that he had got away with smuggling cocaine, but our meticulous officers connected the dots between him and Bullen, and now he’s facing the consequences of his crime.

“Our international operation has put a stop to Bullen’s extensive cocaine business, ensuring that he is no longer making money from supplying some of the most harmful, life-wrecking drugs in the UK.

“I would like thank our partners, particularly the Crown Prosecution Service and the Spanish National Police and prosecution teams in Spain whose assistance was invaluable.”

Gemma Vincent from the Crown Prosecution Service said:

“Steven Bullen led an established organised crime group involved in the importation, production and supply, of controlled drugs. From his base in Spain he directed the widespread distribution of a staggering volume of drugs and the collection and movement of criminal money.

“Prosecutors worked closely with the National Crime Agency and our international parters to build a strong evidential case and secured his return to the UK. Faced with the strength of evidence, he pleaded guilty to all charges.

“Zak Archbold abused his position while working for a reputable courier company and facilitated the importation of cocaine from Europe into the UK.

“Their convictions would not have been possible without the combined efforts of prosecutors in the UK, Spain and France, Spanish law enforcement teams, and the NCA.

“Going forward, we will seek to confiscate their ill-gotten gains and we hope these sentences serve as a deterrent to other would be criminals.

“Drugs have a devastating and costly impact on society, and we will continue to work across borders to prosecute those who seek to flood our streets for their own gain.”

9 July 2026