Selfridges make-up artist exposed as ‘courier’ for major Birmingham drug gang led by city rapper

A Selfridges make-up artist has been exposed as a courier for a major Birmingham drug gang. Cree Dacres acted as a “courier” for the Flash line supplying heroin and cocaine to users in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The 29-year-old from Sutton Coldfield made nine trips in total while taking orders from kingpin Rikardo Reid, a well-known Birmingham rapper known as Stardom, who is also a city gangster linked to the Johnson Crew.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that Dacres had previously been jailed for drug dealing in the past, only to try to rebuild her life in the beauty and retail sectors after her release. But she fell back into her old criminal ways after she was released.

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At the time of her arrest for her involvement in the Flash line, she had found full-time work at Selfridges. Dacres admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and one count of money laundering. Today, Wednesday, May 8, she was sentenced to three years and five months.

She has been remanded in custody since January last year and refused to go to HMP Foston Hall court in Derby on Friday as her lawyer offered her mitigation measures. Annabel Dale, defending, said Dacres played a “simple delivery and return role”, acting under Reid as well as “second-in-command” Joshua Nelson.

She added: “He had a difficult childhood which culminated in him leaving the family home aged 15. He lived in shared housing as part of a care scheme and fell into the company of others who were criminally sophisticated.”

Ms Dale claimed Dacre had “proved she was capable of turning her life around” following a previous drug-related prison sentence when she found work in the beauty and retail sector. But she added: “Following the consolidation by the firm that employed her, she found herself in financial difficulty again.”

Ms Dale said Dacres attended a range of courses while in custody, including mentoring, to “support her ambition to return to a career in the beauty sector”.

The Flash line ran from 2017 to 2022. Five others were sentenced as follows:

Reid, 34, from Sutton Coldfield admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and one count of money laundering. He was sentenced to 12 years and nine months.

Nelson, 35, from Walsall, admitted four counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, one count of money laundering and one count of affray. He was sentenced to 12 years and ten months.

Mickel Gardner, 40, was an occasional drug ringer and allowed his Erdington address to be used as a safe haven. He admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for five years.

Ian Massie, 41, from Aberdeen, was the Scottish distributor for the line and was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and one count of money laundering after a trial. He was sentenced to 11 years and six months.

Himesh Suri, 28, of no fixed address, was a street dealer and admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and one count of money laundering. He was sentenced to nine months consecutive to a prison term which he is currently serving.