County Durham cocaine 'broker' on the run after being sentenced to 14 years in prison

A warrant is out for the arrest of Peter Hudson, who has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug offences. Credit: Durham Police

A drug "broker" who had been trading kilograms of cocaine at a time is on the run after being sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Peter Hudson, from County Durham, was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of cocaine after he failed to attend his trial and it went ahead in his absence.

On 10 August he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Investigations into Hudson have been taking place since October 2020, when he was stopped by police carrying £6,000 in cash.

He was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and the money was forfeited as inquiries continued.

A few months later, officers attended Hudson’s home address where a cash counting machine and a further £8,000 was seized.

Again, Hudson was unable to prove it had been made legally and he was arrested for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Intelligence officers reviewing Hudson’s phone subsequently identified him as being responsible for exchanging messages on the EncroChat network using the handle Boxer-Rapid.

Unbeknown to him, the officers managed to uncover the information from his conversations afterwards which showed he had been trading several kilograms of cocaine, worth thousands of pounds, at a time.

The 27-year-old, of West Cornforth, was later charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

He was due to attend Durham Crown Court to surrender his passport in June but failed to appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He was later tried in his absence and found guilty of the offence being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, namely cocaine. And on August 10, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Temporary Detective Inspector Amanda Howe, of Durham Constabulary, said: “Drugs bring misery to our communities so we will always do everything in our power to stop and disrupt those supplying and dealing these substances.

“Hudson thought he could conceal his drug dealing but officers left no stone unturned to uncover his criminal activity and bring him to justice."

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