Tareanio Blake, 32, a gun-running crime kingpin, has been forced to repay merely £1 ($1) following an investigation into his illicit gains. Blake, described as a ‘leading light’ in a Cheetham Hill-based gang involved in drug and firearm trafficking, was linked to large quantities of cocaine and heroin, as well as ten firearms.
Holly Caldwell, his previous lover, worked as a courier for the gang. During the climax of the COVID-19 lockdown, she drove to Luton with six Grand Power pistols and 180 rounds of ammo for a handover. Caldwell said she was ignorant she was smuggling guns for illicit reasons, assuming the cargo was drugs, according to the Daily Mail.
Caldwell’s attorney contended during her 2022 sentence hearing that she was a “pawn in [Tareanio] Blake’s enterprise.” Caldwell, along with Blake and Mohammed Shahid, were convicted for their involvement in a gang that trafficked firearms and drugs. Caldwell, who was jailed on suspicion of firearms violations, voiced her surprise that Blake had put her in that predicament.
Blake received a 19-year sentence, Shahid 12 years and 9 months, and Caldwell 7 years. On Thursday, the matter returned to Manchester Crown Court for further proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Following an inquiry, Blake and Shahid were discovered to have benefitted from crime in the sums of £617,623 and £590,895, respectively.
However, Blake lacked recoverable assets for restitution, therefore he was ordered to pay back a measly £1. Shahid was required to reimburse £23,831, including Bitcoin, within three months. Failure to comply may result in an additional year added to Shahid’s sentence.
Blake and Shahid were identified as offenders following law enforcement’s hacking of the EncroChat communication network. During their sentencing hearing, Judge Patrick Field KC referred to them as “leading lights” in criminal activity, underlining that their texts indicated they considered their illegal company as a means of achieving long-term financial security.
Caldwell’s sentencing revealed that she met Blake while working as a waitress in a nightclub. After Blake’s continuous pursuit, she accepted to begin a relationship with him. Caldwell’s involvement in illicit acts arose from her “desire to please and assist” her partner, Blake, with whom she had fallen in love and saw a future with marriage and children, according to her counsel David Bentley.
Blake, who lived on Peakdale Avenue in Crumpsall, was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to sell or transfer guns. Similarly, Shahid, who lives on Peakdale Avenue in Crumpsall, pleaded guilty to the same charges.
Blake was found guilty of conspiring to possess a handgun with the purpose to endanger lives. Caldwell, who lives on King Edward Road in St Helens, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to sell class A narcotics and possessing a prohibited weapon.
Another defendant, Ali Hamza, 25, of Whiston Road in Crumpsall, was sentenced to nine years in prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine and heroin, as well as possessing two prohibited weapons.