This baby-faced schoolboy looking a picture of innocence is actually one of Britain’s biggest ever drug smugglers who is now facing years behind bars.
Eddie Burton, together with his glamorous ‘gangster’s moll’ Sian Banks, had been running a £20 million international drug smuggling operation which he founded while still in his teens.
Burton and Banks, now aged 23 and 25 respectively, face long jail terms after they were convicted this week of importing 307 kilos of heroin, cocaine and ketamine.
And now a MailOnline investigation has discovered that despite their relative youth on being convicted of such a huge operation, the pair were no newcomers to the deadly world of drug running with Burton starting out as a street dealer at the age of just ten.
Meanwhile Banks’ fondness for luxury holidays and designer goods saw her getting drawn into crime when scarcely older.
The wannabe influencer pleaded guilty to assisting his criminal enterprise at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday – while her gangster boyfriend had previously admitted similar charges after he was first apprehended while partying on his profits in legendary Ibiza nightclub Pacha.
The scale of the case may have surprised the public because of the relative youth of its mastermind.
But those who knew Burton as a child – including his own grandmother – told us they were unsurprised that he would end up in organised crime.
Eddie Burton (pictured as a 15-year-old in 2016) had been running a £20 million international drug smuggling operation which he founded while still in his teens.
Sian Banks (pictured on social media) pleaded guilty to assisting her boyfriend Burton’s criminal enterprise at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday
Family and friends in Liverpool said Burton had been a ‘tearaway’ from a very young age and was engaged in serious crime before he had even left primary school.
One family friend, speaking on condition of anonymity, told MailOnline: ‘He got into all sorts when he was a kid.
‘He started selling a few drugs when he was about ten for older drug dealers.
‘Eddie was a runner for them. He was a real baby-face so it was ideal for them as he just didn’t look old enough to be into drugs.
‘He got into trouble quite a bit when he was a young teenager – in fights and things.
‘He was just a bit cheeky when he was that young but it gradually got more serious.’
Remarkably, Burton’s paternal grandmother, Margaret Burton, corroborated this version of events.
She told us: ”He was a bit of a young tearaway. I think he was selling drugs. So it’s not that surprising what’s happened to him.
The operation, which involved the smuggling of heroin, cocaine, and ketamine in the backs of lorries, was discovered following the arrest of 23-year-old Burton (above) at Ibiza’s Pacha nightclub in August 2023
Banks’ fondness for luxury holidays and designer goods saw her getting drawn into crime when she was a teenager
One of the two lorries intercepted on 12 August, contained 142 kilos of cocaine and 25 kilos of heroin hidden inside a modified fuel tank (above)
‘Apparently some older men got him to sell things when he was young.’
By her own admission Mrs Burton hadn’t seen her drug criminal grandson for some time – and when she last did the occasion was far from comfortable.
She told MailOnline: He’s my son’s son but he and Eddie’s mum split up a long time ago. I haven’t seen him for years.’
Speaking from her home near Liverpool FC’s old training ground, Mrs Burton went on: ‘I used to mind him as a baby.
‘I don’t really know him now though. I’d heard he’d been to other countries and was into drugs and things. The last time I saw him was when he came to my house when he was 18.
‘It was like a stranger coming to my house with two of his mates. I couldn’t wait for him to go really.’
His grandmother said she only found out Burton’s role as a drugs mastermind was when his father showed her a news article about his conviction earlier this week.
She said: ‘My son phoned me up and told me about it – it was a bit of a shock as it is all so huge. And also because I haven’t seen him for years.’
Pictures on Banks’ social media accounts seem to confirm this glamorous lifestyle
A former associate of Banks told MailOnline: ‘She liked foreign holidays and she liked a big night out’
Merseyside Police issued a photo of Burton looking like a fresh-faced choirboy when he was 15, after he had been reported missing.
Soon he would be permanently missing and at 19 he would move to Amsterdam.
By this time, he is thought to have been dating Banks, who was two years his senior.
The pair are thought to have met in their native Liverpool and Banks was soon smitten both with her new boyfriend and the money.
The choice of Amsterdam as a base was an obvious one for Burton: it has for years been linked to smuggling gangs and was the base for Liverpool’s most notorious drugs runner Curtis Warren – a generation before Burton came along.
Banks meanwhile was seen as an obvious girlfriend for an aspiring gangster.
A woman who knew her growing up told us: ‘She’s a stunning girl and always looked good.
‘She took great care over her appearance and was a good time girl who liked men who had money.’
Banks was seen as an obvious girlfriend for an aspiring gangster and was soon smitten both with her new boyfriend and the money after meeting Burton when he was 15
Banks is thought to have split up with Burton after his arrest and it’s not known whether they have fallen out as they both face prison
Pictures on Banks’ social media accounts seem to confirm this glamorous lifestyle.
One post showed her posing on a yacht aboard with friends as well as several of her in bikini tops during nights out.
Another former associate of Banks told us: ‘She liked foreign holidays and she liked a big night out.
‘Sian’s into nightclubs and I know she’s been to a few festivals like Creamfields.
‘I know she’s been away for quite a few holidays abroad.
‘But it was still a big shock when we found out she’s been up to this much no good.’
The couple are thought to have split up after Burton’s arrest and it’s not known whether they have fallen out as they both face prison.
Details of the pair’s huge drug plot were revealed after Banks pleaded guilty to assisting his criminal enterprise at Canterbury Crown Court this week.
Burton subsequently pleaded guilty to four charges of importing Class A and B drugs
A review of her phone also showed that she had smuggled drugs into the UK in her luggage on two separate occasions in August 2022 after visiting Burton in Amsterdam
Two lorries containing heroin, cocaine, and ketamine were intercepted at the port in Dover, Kent, in the summer of 2022.
The drugs seized weighed a massive 307 kilos, with an estimated street value of £20 million.
Border Force officers stopped the first lorry on 3 July and found 90 kilos of ketamine and 50 kilos of cocaine packed into boxes and a Lidl shopping bag.
The second lorry, intercepted on 12 August, contained 142 kilos of cocaine and 25 kilos of heroin hidden inside a modified fuel tank.
Burton’s fingerprints and DNA were found by forensics officers on both drug consignments, and the concealed fuel tank.
The lorry’s 64-year-old driver was arrested at the scene.
Latvian national Maris Fridvalds, was jailed for 14 years in March 2023 for his role as the courier in the attempted importation.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) then launched a manhunt for Burton.
A general view of Pacha nightclub in Eivissa town, Ibiza
Border Force officers stopped the first lorry on 3 July and found 90 kilos of ketamine and 50 kilos of cocaine packed into boxes and a Lidl shopping bag (above)
A year after the authorities launched their manhunt, Burton was arrested at Ibiza’s Pacha nightclub in August 2023 for unrelated drug dealing offences while using an alias.
After being extradited to Germany and charged with drug-related crimes, Burton was returned to the UK in March 2024 by the NCA’s Joint International Crime Centre (JICC).
Burton subsequently pleaded guilty to four charges of importing Class A and B drugs.
His ex-lover Banks, also from Liverpool, was arrested in December 2023.
It was discovered that she would make monthly trips to see Burton in Spain and the Netherlands between June 2022 and October 2023 from her home in Liverpool.
A review of her phone also showed that she had smuggled drugs into the UK in her luggage on two separate occasions in August 2022 after visiting Burton in Amsterdam.
Messages uncovered by the NCA revealed Banks’ role in coordinating the first shipment of drugs.
One message, sent after the first lorry was intercepted, saw Banks inform Burton that her fingerprints were on the ketamine bags.
Burton replied: ‘You’ve never been nicked or had ye prints took anyway so it doesn’t matter.’
Banks later pleaded guilty to seven charges, including importing Class A drugs and money laundering.
She was also involved in a scam selling counterfeit Covid-19 travel documents during the pandemic.
Burton and Banks are set to be sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on 12 February.
NCA Branch Commander John Turner commented: ‘Burton, with Banks’ help, attempted to smuggle huge quantities of harmful drugs into the UK, believing he could operate with impunity overseas.
‘Banks held a crucial role in the criminal enterprise, laundering the illicit profits and acting as the UK-based facilitator for the multi-million-pound drug importations.
‘The drugs, had they reached their final destination, would have had a destructive impact on our communities, fuelling violence and exploiting vulnerable people throughout the supply chain.’
