Deborah Mason, the “Coke Queen,” ran an £80M cocaine empire using her own family and toddlers as couriers, as revealed in Crime Pulse’s chilling new video.
When police finally cornered 65-year-old Deborah Mason in 2023, they weren’t just arresting a grandmother—they were dismantling an empire. Dubbed “Gangster Debbs” and the “Coke Queen,” Mason orchestrated an £80 million cocaine operation that spanned the UK, using her children, sister, and even toddlers as unwitting camouflage.
As BBC reports, Mason’s quiet Islington home served as the command center for her family-run drug syndicate. She recruited her four children, their partners, and a close friend to haul supermarket bags stuffed with cocaine across Britain—while toddlers often rode in the back seat. From Harwich to Manchester, Cardiff to Sheffield, Mason’s network ran like clockwork, earning her luxury vacations, designer cat collars, and a £192 Bugatti kettle.
The new Crime Pulse documentary, The Coke Queen: How a British Grandmother USED TODDLERS to Run £80M Drug Empire, dives into the audacious scale of Mason’s rise and fall. In one gripping segment, viewers see the early-morning sting operation where police tailed Mason from a deserted Essex retail park to a handoff in Ipswich. Investigators would later reveal that over seven months, Mason’s crew ferried at least 356 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value reaching £80 million.
Judge Philip Shorrock, who handed Mason a 20-year sentence, summed up the surreal betrayal: “As a mother you should have been setting an example to your children, not corrupting them.” Mason’s empire may have crumbled, but her story—equal parts suburban thriller and Shakespearean tragedy—cements her as one of Britain’s most unlikely kingpins.
