A Portsmouth drug gang leader has been sentenced to nine years and four months in prison after being extradited from New York, where he fled following his initial arrest in 2020.
Samuel Watts, 29, with no fixed address in Portsmouth, received his sentence on Wednesday, 25th June, after pleading guilty to multiple serious offences including conspiracy to supply Class A drugs cocaine and heroin, plus arranging travel for exploitation purposes.
The sentencing follows an extensive investigation by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Eastern Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), supported by Portsmouth’s High Harm Team. The probe examined drug supply operations in Portsmouth during January to April 2020.
Investigators uncovered a sophisticated network where Watts operated as head of the ‘Defoe’ line organised crime group from a Bassett Avenue address in Southampton. The operation involved distributing crack cocaine and heroin throughout Portsmouth using vulnerable children aged 13 to 17 as runners.
Two key lieutenants, Justin Koning, 22, from Cotton Road, Portsmouth, and Shariff Shakur, 22, from Samuel Road, Portsmouth, coordinated the drug distribution. Both were just 17 when committing these offences and have since been sentenced – Koning received five years and seven months in January 2023, whilst Shakur was given two years in a young offenders institution.
Police also arrested Blaze Faith from East Street, Havant, now 23, who was found in Watts’ flat during his arrest. She admitted participating in organised crime group activities and received a 16-month suspended sentence in August 2024.
After his initial arrest on 28th April 2020, Watts was released on conditional bail but breached conditions by fleeing abroad. This triggered a nearly five-year international manhunt spanning multiple countries.
Basingstoke drug arrests: Two men held on Class A charges
US Marshalls Service eventually located and arrested Watts at a Times Square hotel in New York during February 2025. Upon extradition, he revealed travelling through Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai, Qatar, Indonesia, Portugal, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and the United States since his 2020 escape.
Watts entered guilty pleas at Portsmouth Crown Court on Monday, 31st March, before receiving his sentence on 25th June. The court also imposed a 10-year Slavery Trafficking Prevention Order.
Mobile phone evidence from the Defoe line revealed the network supplied approximately 3.6 kilograms of crack cocaine and heroin in Portsmouth between 23rd January and 29th April 2020, according to PC Raheel Sarwar from the Metropolitan Police Service.
DC Alastair Charnley from Eastern SOCU commented: “Sam Watts’ conviction delivers excellent results for Portsmouth residents, demonstrating our commitment to tackling high-harm offences involving young people in drug dealing.
“It’s particularly satisfying addressing those ultimately responsible for exploiting and profiting from vulnerable youngsters. The Slavery Trafficking Prevention Order provides valuable future deterrent against using children for criminal activities.
“Special thanks go to Portsmouth High Harm Team for outstanding street-level work identifying and arresting runners initially, plus excellent partnership collaboration with SOCU colleagues.”
Both Koning and Shakur received seven-year slavery and trafficking prevention orders alongside their prison sentences.
