Lewis-Turner was charged in 2020 with drug smuggling offenses, specifically importing and supplying 10kg of cocaine and 38kg of heroin between April 1 and June 18 of that year. He was remanded in custody but released on bail in December 2020, despite opposition from the Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police. According to Daily Mail - News, Arlten Lewis-Turner described his situation in a statement, but he later absconded from bail in October 2024 after spending an estimated £700,000 on legal challenges to drop the case. His legal efforts over the admissibility of EncroChat evidence went to the European Court of Human Rights, but he fled after they failed, and he was found guilty in absentia in March of four counts of drug importation, resulting in a 23-year jail term.
Evidence linked Lewis-Turner to the drug operation through his co-defendant Nagib Omar, who was found in possession of 38kg of heroin and 10kg of cocaine on May 19, 2020, after being seen taking holdalls from a block of flats in Hayes. Police estimated the seized cocaine had a street value of up to £1 million, and the heroin was worth £3.8 million. Nagib Omar had a VSmart EncroChat phone communicating with a user 'thetrap', which first connected to UK networks on April 24, 2020, the same day Lewis-Turner flew into Heathrow wearing a distinctive 'Unique CM' necklace. The same necklace was later found during a search of Lewis-Turner's flat in Discovery Dock Apartments, Canary Wharf.
The boss got locked, the boss came back, the boss came back winning.
Lewis-Turner is believed to have initially fled to Dubai, but police are unsure of his current location. The exact outcome of the legal challenges over EncroChat evidence admissibility in British courts remains unclear, as does whether any other individuals are involved in the drugs ring beyond Lewis-Turner and Nagib Omar. The current status of Nagib Omar's legal proceedings is also unknown.