British soldiers sold nearly £100,000 in cocaine, court hears

The 'network' of four Riflemen dealt one kilo of the Class A drug at up to £100 a gram to other servicemen at an Army barracks over a three year period, a panel was told.

One of them - who was chastised by the gang's ringleader for showing off the proceeds of their conspiracy by buying luxury designer gear - boasted of having to do some 'Gordon Ramsay magic' by cutting the cocaine with caffeine before selling it on.

Another ran a 'double bubble' payday loan scheme to colleagues which the court heard contributed to the suicide of a young soldier, 20 year old Rfn Nathan Worner.

Bulford Military Court heard Rifleman Claudius Scott orchestrated the operation which saw the cocaine brought into the soldiers' base from west London.

Rifleman Claudius Scott (Image: Andrew Croft/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Second-in-command Rifleman Ryan Saedi, alongside 'trusted dealers' Lance Corporal Bradley Hesketh, 27, and Rifleman Ashleigh Walker would sell 1g for £90 - of which they could keep £10 for themselves.

Rfn Scott and Rfn Saedi, who are both 31, earned more than £40,000 each from their crimes.

Rifleman Ryan Saedi (Image: Andrew Croft/Solent News & Photo Agency)

The quartet - who were all part of 5 Rifles Battalion - have all admitted conspiracy to supply drugs.

Prosecutor Will Martin told the court the 'network' of drug dealing took place during a near-three year period between January 2018 and December 2020.

"Scott, Saedi, Walker and Hesketh all played a role in supplying [cocaine] to other service personnel," he said.

He said after analysis of messages and bank statements, a 'conservative estimate' to the total cocaine sold was 1kg - all in 1g packages.

The court heard one gram would be sold for £90, with a dealer taking a £10 cut.

Rfn Scott was dealing cocaine to members of 5 Rifles, had others deal on his behalf and was thought to have been involved in up to 671g of the total sold.

Rfn Saedi was said to have been a 'major part' in the operation, as he was in charge of things during the week, and was estimated to have been involved in the supply of 100g of cocaine.

Rfn Walker, 29, and LCpl Hesketh were both 'trusted dealers', with the former managing his own stock and estimated to have been involved in 160g worth of sales.

Mr Martin continued: "The conspiracy was straight forward.

"Larger amount of cocaine would be sourced from West London and sold onto service personnel.

"It was well known they were drug dealers.

"The cocaine itself would be paid for in cash or bank transfer with profits derived from a mark up to £90 to £100 a gram which the defendants could charge due to restricted access in the barracks."

The court heard they also 'cut' their product with a Pro Plus caffeine product.

It was heard Rfn Scott had a notes page on his phone with a comprehensive list of who owed him money.

In March 2020, Rfn Saedi 'helped source' larger quantities of cocaine after the Covid lockdown 'impacted' its availability.

In separate messages read to the court, LCpl Hesketh boasted about money he had been making from dealing drugs.

When a cocaine package arrived, he texted an accomplice: 'We're going to need to do some magic work to it - some Gordon Ramsay work,' a reference to the celebrity chef.

In another exchange, Rfn Scott messaged LCpl Hesketh 'expressing some concern' about his associate's lack of discretion after he was spotted wearing a Rolex and new Christian Louboutin shoes in Amesbury.

After telling him to 'chill', LCpl Hesketh replied: "Okay my G, my bad."

When he was told it wouldn't 'take long' for people to work out where he was getting his money if he continued, he responded: "They ask me and I just say, Forex [foreign currency] trading."

LCpl Hesketh was arrested in December 2020, when his wallet tested positive for cocaine and he admitted keeping the drug in his room on Rfn Scott's behalf.

When Rfn Scott was arrested, he was found with £6,000 in cash and examination of his bank accounts established he had received £45,000 which could be attributed to drug sales.

Rfn Walker had also received a 'large number' of £90 payments which totalled £20,500. He was arrested in December 2021.

Upon his arrest, Rfn Saedi denied any involvement in selling cocaine and originally claimed he had made his money from his pay day loan scheme.

The court heard there was a 'culture of money lending at high interest rates' within the battalion.

Rfn Saedi had implemented a 'double bubble' system, which required any cash-strapped colleagues who borrowed off him, to repay double the amount on their next pay day.

It was heard Rfn Saedi had received £43,000 worth of payments during his 'commercial nature' operation which sometimes involved him demanding passports as a security deposit.

The court heard he would 'persistently chase down' those who owed him money, encourage them to take out other loans to pay his off and threaten them.

In a text to his brother, he said of his borrowers: "These man are giving me sob stories - their cat died, they got to pay for the funeral, I don't give two fucks."

One of his customers was 20 year-old Rfn Nathan Worner, who tragically killed himself at Bulford Barracks in May 2020.

After receiving payments of nearly £3,000 in the months before his death, it was heard he failed to repay Rfn Saedi in time.

As a result Rfn Saedi got Rfn Worner's home address and included it in a message which said: "Bruv send me my money or I'm coming to your house."

The court heard he eventually got Rfn Worner on a payment plan, where he would send him up to £900 a month on pay day before his death.

In a statement read to the court, his mother, Alison Blackwell, said although Rfn Saedi was not directly responsible, she was 'haunted' by the thought of his influence on her son's death.

"I believe their greed and intimidation would have at least contributed to his state of mind," she said.

Although Rfn Saedi has not been prosecuted in relation to his death, Mr Martin said: "[He] loaned money to vulnerable people and was, at best, indifferent to their plight."

In relation to his loaning scheme, Rfn Saedi admitted conduct prejudicial to good order.

He also admitted disobedience of lawful command, after he tried to contact LCpl Hesketh's partner after their arrest.

LCpl Hasketh has also admitted possession of criminal property for holding Rfn Scott's money and cocaine.

Rfn Scott and Rfn Saedi have both since left the army.

The sentencing hearing continues.