Drug lord’s ex-wife set up ambush where his rivals tortured him to death

Drug lord’s ex-wife set up ambush where his rivals tortured him to death

This article first appear at Drug lord’s ex-wife set up ambush where his rivals tortured him to death

A cocaine trafficker’s ex-wife has been jailed for helping rival gangsters snare him in an ambush in his own home where he was tortured to death.

Coleen Campbell, 38, was sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter after leaking key details about Thomas Campbell’s home address, car and movements, thinking he would be subjected to a violent robbery in July last year.

But Thomas was found dead in his hallway, naked except for a pair of socks, having suffered 61 injuries from being stabbed, punched, stamped on and having boiling water poured on his buttocks.

Coleen was not initially under suspicion but gave herself away after telling Thomas’ mum that she had had a séance with a clairvoyant in which details of his gruesome death were revealed from beyond the grave.

Former Matalan store assistant Coleen had lived a lavish lifestyle with her husband for nearly 10 years, remaining at his side after the pair were convicted of money laundering charges and Thomas spent two years in jail.

But her loyalty proved wasted when he started an affair with one of her friends soon after his release, prompting the marriage to end bitterly in 2021.

The gangster, who remained an ‘integral’ part of of an orgranised crime gang, later fell afoul of John Belfield, 28, by getting into a relationship with his ex-girlfriend.

Belfield, who was described in court as ‘heavily concerned in the large scale supply of Class A drugs’, reached out to Colleen on Instagram a week before the killing and the pair soon began discussing the plot.

Using Coleen’s information, Belfield and two associates, Stephen Cleworth, 38, and Reece Steven, 29, repeatedly carried out reconnaissance trips to Thomas’ home.

They knew when their target would be in and out of the property thanks to a tracking device Cleworth planted on his car.

Prosecutors say Belfield and Steven attacked Thomas as he returned home late on a Saturday night, while Cleworth missed out because he was ‘on a bender at a swingers’ club’.

Thomas’ brother Daniel told jurors how his family consoled her in the days after the murder.

His mother raised the alarm after the bizarre conversation about the séance, in which Coleen gave intimate details about the attack and his injuries which only the killers could have known.

Prosecutors said phone evidence showed Coleen and Belfield spoke after the incident, during which he ‘probably’ told her about it in depth.

Steven was found guilty of murder and faces a life sentence, while Cleworth was convicted of manslaughter.

Belfield is thought to be on the run in Spain, and was not placed on trial but named as a co-conspirator.

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First appear at Drug lord’s ex-wife set up ambush where his rivals tortured him to death