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Woman lived life of luxury with Audi car & Louis Vuitton handbags – but drugs empire crashed after costly mistake

Woman lived life of luxury with Audi car & Louis Vuitton handbags – but drugs empire crashed after costly mistake
Published 1 years ago on Feb 19, 2023

Danielle Stafford splurged on luxury goods including nine watches and three expensive Louis Vuitton handbags.

She also bought a second home and took lavish holidays abroad without even touching her normal salary, Hull Live reports.

Stafford, 29, instead enjoyed the trappings of wealth using the money she made through a long-running drug operation. 

But her empire collapsed following a chance encounter with police, who clocked her speeding in her flashy Audi.

After she was arrested, Stafford’s phone constantly rang with 30 calls and pinged with up to 20 drug messages.

Officers searching her home in Cottingham in Yorkshire later seized £26,917 cash and drugs with a street value of £33,600.

Stafford is now facing jail after she admitted three offences of being concerned in supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis and another of possessing cash as criminal property.

Hull Crown Court heard how between October 2017 and May 2020, Stafford sold heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis.

She was described as an “enthusiastic” cannabis dealer who rose through the murky ranks to become a Class A dealer.

Her “additional cash income stream” was so successful, she didn’t even need to touch her actual salary.

Nadim Bashir, prosecuting, said: “This went completely unnoticed by the police until one day in May 2020 when her manner of driving was noticed by the police and was the start of this case unravelling before her very eyes.”

On May 12, 2020, police had stopped Stafford in the car park of The Odd Bottle pub and smelt cannabis coming from her car.

The criminal “immediately lied” to the cops and handed them a wrap containing a small amount of the drug before cops found further bags of cannabis.

Officers also discovered more cannabis totalling £1,308 and Stafford’s iPhone with messages on that revealed her second job.

Once in custody, she pulled a large amount of cocaine from her trousers valued at £2,800.

Police searched her home and discovered 270 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £13,500, and 205 wraps of heroin worth £4,100 in a coal bunker in the back garden.

Stafford had £2,500 worth of cannabis as well as bundles of cash scattered around the home including one bag containing more than £9,000.

Police recovered text messages that exposed Stafford’s drug-dealing and lists of people owing and owed money.

Mr Bashir said: “She had somehow managed to avoid her drug dealing activities coming to the attention of the police for a substantial period of time.

“The natural result of this was that she was able to accumulate a substantial amount of wealth, including purchasing an investment property, a house to rent. Cash found in her home address amounted to £26,917.

“The amount, type and value of drugs found at her home were substantial.

“It is, frankly, absurd to suggest that they were for her personal use or even belonged to some other unknown third party. The drugs alone were street valued at £33,600.”

Stafford was bailed ahead of sentencing.

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