After her “cocaine baron” husband was discovered dead at their opulent house, a wife was charged with murder conspiracy.
Thomas Campbell, 38, was discovered dead at a residence on Riverside in Mossley on July 3. Colleen Campbell, 38, of Clayton, Greater Manchester, was charged as a result.
She has been kept in detention and is scheduled to show up in court today in Manchester.
The magistrates have already heard testimony from Stephen Raymond Cleworth, 37, of Charles Street in Heywood, who is charged with planning a murder between July 2 and July 3.
On July 3, about 10.30 am, Mr. Campbell was discovered at the Riverside property and was declared dead there.
The father of two lived the high life while dealing cocaine for his family’s drug ring, making £100,000 in dirty money.
Jobless Following trips to Cancun, Sharm El Sheikh, Gran Canaria, Majorca, and Bulgaria with his wife Colleen, who worked part-time for the low-cost department store chain Matalan, Campbell was sentenced to two years in prison in 2019 for concealing criminal property.
Additionally, Colleen applied for tax breaks and child benefits.
Despite claiming to be a personal trainer, he was seen “carrying a little weight” while on vacation.
Holiday pictures showed the couple relaxing on a huge rattan bed, having fun at a swim-up bar, and taking a yacht ride while his wife was spotted holding a marmoset monkey.
In addition, they spent thousands on expensive clothing and jewellery. They also added a bar and a larger kitchen to their home.
Before being released in 2020, Campbell is believed to have served half of his sentence.
When Campbell’s finances were being looked into, the police found that he and his wife, who were then living in Clayton, Manchester, had taken a 10-day family vacation with their kids to Cancun, Mexico, where they had stayed at the five-star Hard Rock Hotel, using “premium seats.”
They had a Jacuzzi, round-the-clock room service, and an Xbox gaming system in their lodging.
The family was reportedly said to have rented a motorboat during the trip, which cost £10,000 and was paid for in cash.
The pair was charged with using drug money as cover to support their extravagant “high life.”
Additionally, they allegedly hired relatives to assist them in handling the illegal funds.
Mrs. Campbell made cash deposits on BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes between 2012 and 2016, continuing to pay for them with monthly instalments until upgrading to a better model.
In 2015, when police were called to their residence, the couple had a BMW and a high-performance Mercedes worth £60,000 with matching license plates on their drive.
Campbell bought a black 6.3-liter Mercedes AMG with a customised number plate for £42,000 using loan arrangements, and his wife bought a similar vehicle—a black BMW X5—for £16,500. Both vehicles had personalised number plates.
Campbell has ties to relatives who had been found guilty of cocaine possession with the intent to resell.
While Mrs. Campbell’s brother, Brian Bowden, had also entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, his cousin Stephen Campbell and his brothers Lee Campbell and Lee Campbell were both found guilty of possession with the intent to supply cocaine.
Mrs. Campbell received a sentence of 16 months in prison with a 2-year suspension.
A second relative approved the application for a £60,000 two-story addition to her house, which the couple moved into after it was finished.
The dining and kitchen areas were expanded, and a bedroom was added to the second level.
They added flat-screen TVs, a gym space in the garden, a personal bar, a TV bed, and mosaic floors when refurbishing the property.
The prosecution claims that Campbell utilized the “Probe 700 FX,” which is designed to determine whether the owner is being monitored, to see if he was being surveyed, when he was also discovered to be in possession of it.
The couple was “living comfortably on the back of criminality,” according to the prosecution.