Dennis Kelly, also known as Dennis O’Brien, was tracked down in the Costa Del Sol resort of Calahonda and arrested in December 2010.

 

A drugs baron who plotted to flood Britain with £166m of 'staggeringly high purity' cocaine has been told he is likely to die in jail. Convicted murderer Dennis Kelly, 62, planned to import 1.6tonnes of coke hidden in tins of asparagus. When the plot was uncovered by police in 2005 he went on the run for five years hiding in the Costa Del Sol. The drugs - which were around 92 per cent pure - had a street value of £83million but their value could have doubled if they were diluted with other chemicals. The Class A cargo had been shipped from Peru to Rotterdam before being moved to Amsterdam. However, police intercepted the haul before it was sent to Liverpool. The drugs baron ran the Merseyside end of the operation along with his son James as part of a 'family affair'. He has been given 27 years behind bars. Kelly and his gang were expecting to take a quarter of the haul themselves. When police uncovered the plot in November 2005, Kelly fled and left his family to face justice. While his father was lying low as one of Merseyside’s most wanted criminals James Kelly pleaded guilty to his part in the operation and, in 2007, was jailed for 19 years.   More... Mother accused of racist tram rant 'had taken double dose of medication', court hears His sister Sarah got a suspended prison sentence for concealing £29,000 of his ill-gotten cash found in a rucksack at her home. But Dennis Kelly, also known as Dennis O’Brien, was tracked down in the Costa Del Sol resort of Calahonda and arrested in December 2010. Upon his return to Britain he was immediately jailed for breaching the terms of his lifelong licence for the murder of Toxteth newsagent Billy Osu in 1983. Hideout: Calahonda, Costa del Sol where Dennis Kelly was hiding until 2010 when he was brought back to Britain At the beginning of his trial last month prosecutor Anne Whyte QC, told jurors: 'He had the wherewithal, the guile and the means to support himself for the five years before his apprehension. 'That took precedence over the on-going prosecution against members of his own family. 'By the end of this trial you will be sure what motivated him [to stay away] - greed, criminality, the profits and the desire not to be caught.' His trial for conspiracy to import Class A drugs lasted for six weeks and saw dozens of witnesses called. But the jury of seven women and five men took just over seven hours to find him guilty. Marguerite Russell, defending, pointed out that at least Kelly had not given evidence and therefore not lied on oath. She made a plea for clemency, saying: 'Please offer a little glimmer of hope for someone of his age otherwise it will mean a sentence of life - complete life.' Judge John Roberts said: 'You kept, to quote the prosecution’s words, "under the radar" as the planner and director of operations. 'You commissioned the drug from the source while your son James travelled extensively in Europe. 'You and he had, in reality, a working partnership of equals. I am satisfied you were both right at the top of the UK supply chain. 'You were also prepared to lend money to others to allow them to participate in the wicked trade of drug supply. 'What was contained in those tins of asparagus was cocaine of a staggeringly high purity. 'This case is so serious that only a very long sentence of imprisonment can be imposed given the nature of the offence and the breathtaking scale of it.' He said Kelly could be expected to serve half of whatever sentence he passed, though he warned Kelly, of Stanfordham Drive, Garston: 'Whether you will actually be released will depend on your status at that time so far as a life sentence for murder is concerned. 'The sentence I pass upon you is one of 27 years imprisonment. That sentence will begin immediately.'