A drugs trafficker who collected cocaine from American couriers flying into a UK airport has been jailed for 15 years and four months.

Dale Hosker, 50, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court today (Wednesday) following a National Crime Agency investigation into two organised crime groups collecting cocaine from couriers at Manchester Airport.

Hosker, a dog breeder, is the last offender from the groups to be jailed.

Last month his partner Dale Creen, 35, was jailed for 11 years along with two men from a different organised crime group – Albanians Elton Hallaci and Artur Iseberi who were respectively sentenced to 21 years and seven months and 18 years.

Last year, seven US citizens who acted as the couriers, were jailed for collecting the cocaine at Manchester Airport and transferring it to Hallaci, 32, and Iseberi, 27, of Liverpool, and Hosker and Creen, of Salford.

The Americans flew into Manchester from the United States on 11 May 2024 without any luggage and waited until bags containing cocaine arrived from Cancun, Mexico.

Eight suitcases arrived at the airport and the couriers followed text message instructions from a US offender called ‘Nate’ to collect specific suitcases containing hundreds of kilograms of the Class A drug before transferring it to the four men who were waiting at nearby locations.

Couriers collected the suitcases from the carousels, wheeled them outside and caught taxis to a nearby hotel where they passed two to Hosker and five to Hallaci and Iseberi.

But one of the couriers left a case behind which Border Force officers opened and discovered 20 one-kilogram blocks of cocaine. The NCA investigation showed that on that day Hosker collected 40kg of cocaine and the Albanians collected 100kg.

A few weeks later on 31 May, 266kg of high purity cocaine with a street value of around £24m was smuggled into Manchester Airport in 12 suitcases.

Seven couriers were sent to collect them.

But 246kg was seized and only one woman courier was successful and was directed to an address in Bury to hand over 20kgs to Creen. The other suitcases were seized, each contained between 22 and 24 blocks of cocaine and a tracking device.

Hallaci, Iseberi, Hosker and Creen were arrested on 17 June 2025 by NCA officers.

Evidence against them was damning.

The offenders were captured on CCTV at Manchester Airport on the days of the importations. And one courier took a photograph of Hosker loading cocaine-filled suitcases into his car following the 11 May handover.

Inside Hallaci’s home, officers found keys to a Jaguar car parked outside.

It had a professionally fitted hidden compartment between the rear seats and the boot used for smuggling drugs.

Officers also discovered a treasure trove of notepads with detailed ledgers of cocaine importations. They featured references to handovers that both Hallaci and Iseberi were involved in on 11 May.

The notebooks, which were written in Albanian and contained the fingerprints of Hallaci and Iseberi, indicated how the drugs would be divvied up with 30kg going to Bradford, 35kg going to London, 8kg to Birmingham.

As part of the investigation, NCA investigators also seized two other Jaguar cars belonging to the Albanian OCG which were fitted with after-market hides.

On the day the offenders were arrested, Iseberi tried to escape along the roof of his home, and in Creen’s bedroom officers found an axe, a knife and a machete.

Hallaci, Iseberi and Hosker pleaded guilty to smuggling cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

Creen was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine with intent to supply but acquitted of smuggling cocaine.

Jon Hughes, NCA Branch Commander, said: “The Class A drugs trade is inextricably bound up with extreme violence which can have devastating consequences, we have seen entirely innocent victims caught in the cross-fire of feuding drugs gangs.

“But offenders like Hosker are driven by greed and don’t care about the trail of misery and harm from source countries in South America to the streets of our towns and cities.

“The NCA works with partners at home and abroad to protect the public from the threat of Class A drugs.”

17 June 2026