Drug dealers caught after they tried to post thousands of packages

A pair of brazen drug dealers were caught sending hundreds of envelopes full of drugs through the post.

James Willoughby, 27, and Mac Cheremeh, 42, put hundreds of packages containing illegal substances into postboxes.

Drugs including crack cocaine, heroin, MDMA, cannabis, ketamine, LSD, crystal meth, ecstasy, and amphetamine were sent to addresses in the UK, Australia, and America.

But their plan was scuppered when the Royal Mail busted 54 of the packages after detecting a ‘strong smell of cannabis’ around them.

Investigators then intercepted around 1,800 parcels over the space of just a month that had been posted in and around Chelmsford in Essex. The drugs had an estimated street value of up to £517,500.

Charles Willoughby, his brother James Willoughby, and Mac Cheremeh all admitted to their parts in conspiracy to supply the drugs.

They appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday for sentencing.

Cheremeh and James Willoughby were put behind bars for 10 years each, and Charles Willoughby, 32, was sentenced to eight months, suspended for two years.

The hundreds of parcels were all sent between November and December 2018.

Police were called and detectives began an investigation to identify who was sending them.

And on December 19, 2018, Charles Willoughby was spotted posting envelopes into a postbox on London Road in Brentwood – and arrested moments later.

The packages were retrieved and found to contain cannabis bud.

After storming a number of properties linked to the trio, police officers found large boxes of padded envelopes, cash and cannabis.

James Willoughby was seen jumping from a balcony and trying to escape, but was arrested.

Following an extensive investigation, the three men were summonsed to court in December 2019.

James Willoughby and Cheremeh each admitted three charges of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.