Shropshire Star

Brazen: Welshpool drug runner posed in judge’s wig

A Welshpool drug runner who was caught with £5,000 of crack cocaine posed for a Facebook selfie wearing a judge's wig.

Published
Last updated
Kareen Bagnall, of Welshpool was jailed for nine years. Right; The brazen 22-year-old poses in a judge’s wig on Facebook.

Kareen Bagnall, 22, posted the cheeky pic to her Facebook page in May, adding: 'One day'.

She was first arrested in January after police found her and her mother Anthea with the stash in her car in Birmingham.

The pair, from Welshpool, were jailed for nine years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday.

Kareen Bagnall had been on bail when the picture of her staring at the camera in the wig was posted on her page.

One friend even commented: "Good for u! And you actually look good in the wig!"

The pair had been drug runners in a huge crime syndicate across the Midlands which supplied heroin, crack cocaine and guns.

Known as 'County Lines', the gang of nine were imprisoned for more than 60 years in total following the joint operation between West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and the National Crime Agency.

Ringleader Mohammed Rafiq Khan, 29 from Bordeseley Green, Birmingham, was detained at Shrewsbury train station in February 2017 where he was found in possession of five mobile phones, over £1,500 in cash and tickets to Dubai.

Investigations revealed more than 100 calls per day were made using Khan's line to drug users in Welshpool, Shrewsbury and Birmingham.

A total of 14 sawn-off shotguns were recovered and more than five kilos of Class A drugs were distributed through the illegal operations.

Detective Inspector James Mahon, from the West Midlands Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "This was a complex investigation but has led to significant prison sentences and illegally held guns and drugs being removed from the streets.

"These converted sawn off shotguns had the potential to be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands; while drugs can ruin lives and communities."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.