One of the UK’s most wanted men has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after evading justice for four years.
Calvin Parris, 35, from Cardiff, was detained by Portuguese police near the town of Boliqueime in the Algarve on October 3 last year after disappearing in November 2020.
Handing him a 12-year sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said he could not say the defendant had “absconded” from justice, despite his disappearance.
He said: “You did not abscond – you were not under arrest at the time of the offence.
“However one equates it, it doesn’t equate to absconding.”
Parris, who appeared in the dock wearing a white T-shirt and grey jogging bottoms, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine at a hearing in December.
Prior to his arrest, he had been featured on the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) most wanted list.
Mr Jenkins said Parris had been part of an organised crime group that attempted to bring drugs into Wales during the coronavirus lockdown.
The gang used the encrypted EncroChat platform to arrange the purchase and delivery of drugs into the country, with the defendant using the handles “Hopeful Crown” and “Mad Dagger”.
Mr Jenkins said that after the arrests of other members of the group police officers went to Parris’ home in Ely, Cardiff, but “you were not there”.
Passing his sentence, the judge said he had to take into account the defendant’s previous convictions.
Parris had two previous convictions in 2007 and 2015, both related to the supply of drugs, and was still under licence for the latter offence when he went missing in 2020.
However, he added Parris had entered guilty pleas to the latest conspiracy charge at the first opportunity following his arrest and he was entitled to full credit – reducing his sentence from 18 years to 12.
Parris is the final member of an organised crime group involved in a complex conspiracy to traffick class A drugs into South Wales.
The group was caught when Lenci Gashi, an Albanian national, was stopped by police while driving a Citroen Berlingo towards South Wales on May 27 2020.
His van contained 15kg of pressed cocaine, stamped with the Audi car logo, intended for members of the organised crime group.
A month later, Michael Laverick, said to be the head of the group, was also arrested.
The NCA says Laverick was supported by his second in command Asim Naveed who was responsible for the onward distribution of cocaine once it had been received from the upstream suppliers.
Danny Attard stored the cocaine in safe locations within Cardiff, while Parris and Damian Farrugia were involved in the purchase of wholesale amounts of cocaine.
Naveed and Parris were later found to have fled the United Kingdom for Portugal.
Between March 31 and May 27 2020 the group took possession of 35kg cocaine and paid £696,000 to upstream suppliers.
Parris was finally arrested by Portuguese officers in the Algarve in October 2024.
Officers from the NCA escorted Parris back to the UK and he was taken into custody by South Wales Police.
The other members of the group have already been sentenced, with Laverick getting 18 years, Attard 14, Farrugia 13, Gashi 11 years and four months and Naveed 10 years and eight months.
Amir Khan, a trusted member of the gang who received 6.5kg of cocaine, was handed a sentence of 20 years and seven months.
Duncan Burrage, NCA international regional manager, said: “After naming Calvin Parris as one of our most wanted fugitives, we were relentless in our efforts to track him down and return him to Wales to face justice.
“The jail term served to Parris today wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our Portuguese Judicial Police partners who located and arrested him in the Algarve last year.
“This case demonstrates our commitment to work closely with domestic and international law enforcement to ensure there is nowhere for UK fugitives to run and hide from justice.”
Detective Sergeant Ceri Young, of South Wales Police, said: “Calvin Parris was a member of an organised crime group involved in a complex conspiracy to traffick class A controlled drugs into South Wales utilising encrypted communications devices operating on the EncroChat platform.
“Parris and his co-conspirators used encrypted communications devices which operated the ‘EncroChat’ platform to aid their offending and frustrate law enforcement.
“Organised crime and drug trafficking has a significant detrimental impact on communities and bringing offenders involved in this level of criminality to justice is a priority for South Wales Police.”
