Dominic McInally was a person of interest for years after he fled justice following the discovery of 6kg of cocaine with 75% purity in a car stopped in Crosby, Merseyside
One of the UK’s most sought-after fugitives – implicated in a cocaine operation with a purity level of 75% – was finally arrested at a strip club in Marbella.
Dominic McInally had dodged capture for six years before investigators traced him to the Costa del Sol in Spain. He became a person of interest for detectives following the discovery of six kilograms of cocaine in a car pulled over in Crosby, Merseyside. Investigators surmised that the stash, boasting a purity of 75%, would have been diluted with bulking agents to yield up to 25kg, subsequently divided into street deals.
But McInally fled justice for six years until Spanish National Police stormed the Casa Masa strip club near Marbella in the early hours of the morning. He was subsequently handed a 12-year prison sentence.
The case today forms part of the Liverpool Echo’s weekly series delving into Merseyside’s criminal past. The publication, our sister title, has scrutinised the case of McInally, examining his lavish lifestyle whilst on the lam and how investigators finally cornered him.
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Authorities discovered that those connected to the Crosby drug seizure in 2014 had journeyed to the France-Belgium border to collect the drugs, concealing the haul in a hidden compartment within a Seat Leon vehicle. Five men received collective prison sentences totalling 48 years, but McInally managed to elude justice until his eventual arrest more than half a decade later.
McInally was portrayed as the kingpin of this drug syndicate – a group projected to rake in over £1m each month – with his image emblazoned across billboards and wanted notices distributed in the UK and Spain.
Criminal proceedings against other gang members revealed how the Seat Leon served as a “Trojan horse”, with the group referring to it as a “pie car” – street slang for a motor capable of concealing illegal goods. Photographs showed the “hide” was housed in a purpose-built compartment within the transmission tunnel.
The gang utilised a specialist Blackberry handset, which featured security measures preventing emails from being intercepted by unwanted observers. Other participants in the operation bragged about swigging champagne and snorting “Charlie” aboard a ferry using their ill-gotten gains.
However, when authorities moved in, McInally fled abroad. A European arrest warrant was issued for the then 25 year old in 2016, the day following the sentencing of his co-conspirators.
During court proceedings, Judge Norman Wright, whilst sentencing the other defendants, stated: “There is another man for whom there is a European arrest warrant. That man was the very top of this conspiracy and that man had a leading role.”
Det Supt Lee Turner commented: “Despite the conviction of these offenders, this is still an open investigation and I would like to take this opportunity to appeal for the public’s help in tracing Dominic McInally as we believe he may have vital information in relation to this conspiracy. I would urge McInally, or anyone who knows of his whereabouts to contact us.”
As part of a high-profile wanted appeal, McInally’s mugshot was plastered on billboards and even transported around Spanish holiday destinations on a van, hoping somebody would identify him. McInally’s life on the lam dramatically concluded when Spanish National Police stormed the Casa Masa strip club, near Marbella, in the wee hours of 28 February 2020.
The operation was a collaborative effort between Spanish officers, the National Crime Agency and Merseyside Police, culminating in the arrest of McInally, formerly of Formby.
At the time, the then 30 year old was listed as one of Crimestoppers’ most wanted under Operation Captura, an initiative aimed at gathering information about fugitives believed to be hiding out in Spain.
McInally maintained that he was merely friends with gang members and had no involvement with cocaine, claiming his wealth came from trading cars and jewellery. However, the jury saw through his deceit and unanimously convicted him of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, following a trial that shed light on the lavish lifestyle McInally led thanks to his criminal endeavours.
The ECHO later disclosed how, despite having “no obvious” income between 2007 and 2014, McInally:.
The prosecutor in his case painted a picture of the drug criminal as “a man who knew the price of everything but the value of nothing”. McInally was handed a 12-year prison sentence.
Upon McInally’s conviction, Merseyside Police’s then deputy chief constable Ian Critchley remarked: “The verdict is a great result and a fine example of what can be achieved when forces and agencies work together across borders to apprehend a serious and organised criminal such as McInally.
“He thought he could evade law enforcement. But there can be no hiding place when forces and agencies work well together…I hope that the guilty verdict sends a message to criminals who think that they can hide from justice that we will find you and we will put you before the courts.”
In the aftermath of McInally’s sentencing, investigators turned their attention to his ill-gotten gains. Officers calculated he’d personally pocketed just north of a quarter of a million pounds from the gang’s illegal activities.
However, authorities were eventually left with little more than his collection of designer clothing.
Additional gang members imprisoned in 2016 comprised James Gradwell, of no fixed address, handed 13 years and seven months, Christopher Corry, of Halifax Crescent in Thornton, Merseyside, given 11 years and six months, Ryan McQueen, of Laurel Drive in County Armagh, receiving six years, Jordan Talbot, of Elson Road in Formby, Merseyside locked up for six years and six months, and William Marsh, of Rock Lane in Melling, Merseyside who received 10 years and eight months.
