A drug lord who helped smuggle cocaine into the UK via helicopter has proposed to his “love of life” Thai girlfriend. Jon Moorby, 54, ran the Teeside arm of an international drugs ring that would see crooks hire out rural homes before using chartered helicopters to ferry millions of pounds worth of drugs from Europe.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, the gang which was run by Merseyside boss Lance Kennedy would flood the country with drugs after they were dropped in the south of England. Moorby fled the country in 2014 and was caged for 15 years’ in his absence for supplying cocaine and amphetamine.
Moorby sought refuge in Thailand with his millions, where he reportedly continued to run his operation. But his exotic crime venture ended when Thai authorities chased him in a speedboat. He was caught in 2017, having fled to the island of Ko Mudsom. Police traced him after acting on a tip-off that his son Brandon was flying over to see him.
Moorby was extradited to the UK and began is sentence in 2019. But the drug dealer was slapped with an additional 14 years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
TeesideLive reports Moorby is in the process of divorcing his wife Kelly, who he married in 2013, after he fell in love with a dancer in Thailand called Lalida Baribon. The couple have a nine-year-old daughter called Lily. Moorby met the 31-year-old at a bar in Patong, Phuket and they lived together until his arrest in 2017.
Moorby and Ms Baribon lost contact following his arrest but the gangster is now desperate to win her back. He said she was terrified by his contacts and lifestyle, and would be too scared to try and make contact with him now.
Speaking from prison, Moorby said: “Lalida is a country girl from the rice fields near Udon Thani (in Isan, north-east Thailand). I am asking her to marry me right now. Lalida was always the one for me. I love Lalida and Lily with all my heart. I would be so proud if she would be my wife. Lalida, if you see this, please get in touch.”
Moorby, who is a category A prisoner held under high security, could have the opportunity to be with Ms Baribon sooner than initially planned as his sentence will be slashed under the government’s early release scheme. Although his recent application to be recategorised as medium risk was turned down, Moorby has received a notification that he will be released in 2028 under the 40 per cent early release scheme.
Teesside’s “Mr Big” would have served nine years, but the calculation incorporates two years he spent in prison in Thailand. He was jailed there for using a fake Belgian passport – with the name Goossens Wouters – to get into the country.
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