Hartlepool Borough Council Under Fire for Payments Made to a Security Firm Linked to a Known Drug Kingpin
- teessidetoday
- Feb 19
- 5 min read
Calls for an investigation as to how Hartlepool Borough Council has paid thousands of pounds to a security firm who themselves are said facing questions over its alleged links to organised crime...
19th Feb 2025
Shocking revelations have emerged regarding Hartlepool Borough Council’s financial dealings with a North East security firm with alleged links to organised criminal activity, where HBC Exposed has discovered NE Security Ltd, a firm now receiving substantial payments from the local taxpayer, employs a convicted former drug lord who's links to organised crime led to him receiving a considerable prison sentence for running a £10 million pound cocaine empire.
Taxpayer Funds now Flowing to a Firm with a 'Troubled Past'...
Recent financial records reveal Hartlepool Borough Council has made significant payments to NE Security Ltd for security services across multiple council-owned and managed sites. The transactions, categorised under ‘Facilities Management’ within the council’s Development, Neighbourhoods & Regulatory Services budget, are said to be raising serious concerns about transparency & due diligence, where its claimed amongst the notable payments uncovered, HBC Exposed found that Hartlepool Borough Council had paid out :
£6,975.96 on the 06/12/2024
£7,471.20 on the 08/11/2024
£3,528.00 on the 09/10/2024
£2,934.80 on the 08/11/2024
These payments are said to be just a fraction of the tens of thousands supposedly being channelled into a company by Hartlepool Borough Council that's said to be facing questions not just over its alleged links to organised criminal activity, but claims NE Security Ltd's previous business Trading under the name NES Services LTD was under investigation by liquidators for the company, following concerns its Director Mr Garside Snr had supposedly 'hid away' tens of thousands of pounds worth of assets when the business collapsed into its most recent insolvency back in 2019....
A joint liquidators statement provided to Companies House at the time read :
We are investigating the companies financial affairs to determine whether there are any potential undisclosed assets, as stated in previous reports, we have engaged solicitors Isadore Goldman to assist us. We've reached out to Mr Garside, the companies sole director for an interview into the companies financial affairs prior to it being declared insolvent, but to date Mr Garside has not attended any interview in person. Instead Mr Garside has provided answers to us via a written questionnaire, but these responses have been 'limited'...
HBC Exposed also understands solicitors working for the joint liquidators of Garsides now 'insolvent' firm 'NES Services Ltd' are continuing to work with Joint Liquidators, following concerns relating to the companies apparent 'insolvency' which had been raised by other organisations such as HM Revenue & Customs, suggesting the troubling aspect of the previous firms financial collapse would have been the red flag any responsible organisation would have realised would made Mr Garside Snr's newest business NE Security Ltd completely 'unsuitable' to be in receipt of public funds.
David Garside Jnr: Not a Director, But Still Influential in the company...
A recent Daily Mail investigation unearthed Garside Jnr, the son of NE Security Ltd’s director, had previously served a lengthy prison sentence for orchestrating a £10 million cocaine ring. Following his release, Garside Jnr has been reportedly working for his fathers firm, raising concerns about the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s (TVCA) decision to award high-value contracts to a company employing individuals with such serious criminal histories.
NE Security Ltd has been granted a number of lucrative security contracts shouldered by the local Tax Payer, including providing services for the Teesworks Project, the UK’s largest Freeport on Teesside. Despite Garside Jnr not being a director of the firm, his involvement the company is said to be raising serious concerns about who is truly influencing operations and more importantly just how these contracts were awarded.
Just How Did This Firm Pass Procurement Checks?
NE Security Ltd previously operated out of an office on Lowthian Road in Hartlepool before relocating to new premises just months ago. The latest revelation over its payments being recieved by Hartlepool Borough Council however is likely to spark urgent questions over just how NE Security Ltd supposedly passed the councils and the TVCA’s supposedly 'stringent’ procurement checks, despite questions being raised over the collapse of a previous firm & the employment of individuals with alleged links to serious organised crime.
A source close to the council told HBC Exposed:
“This is a complete breakdown in Hartlepool Borough Council’s vetting process. The council’s increasing reliance on this firm suggests a complete breakdown in due diligence, or a sheer willingness to overlook the red flags because they're struggling to find businesses willing to work with them.”
Security contracts within publicly funded organisations should be awarded to firms with trust, integrity, and accountability—qualities that seem glaringly absent in this case. The situation raises some serious ethical implications, with Tax Payers money seemingly being funnelled into a business employing a convicted drug kingpin, a move that threatens to significantly undermine public trust in the local council., with critics arguing that Hartlepool residents deserve transparency and accountability, and, more importantly, assurances that the council is not inadvertently funding enterprises linked to organised criminal activity.
Calls for an Independent Investigation
Given these disturbing findings, there's likely to be growing calls for an independent investigation into Hartlepool Borough Council’s procurement practices, with several key questions having to be answered:
Was the council aware that NE Security Ltd employs a former drug lord?
What due diligence was conducted before awarding these contracts?
Were there alternative, reputable security firms available?
Hartlepool Borough Council is already said to be under fire for multiple governance failures & claims of financial mismanagement, with this latest scandal only adding fuel to the fire with it being claimed that Hartlepool Borough Council seemingly awarding lucrative contracts to businesses who employ individuals with such tainted histories only serves to strengthen public claims that the council is either being complacent or complicit in funding enterprises with chequered pasts...
One thing is for certain though, unless immediate action is taken to review these contracts and impose stricter vetting processes, public confidence in Hartlepool Borough Council will only continue to erode even further, with some even suggesting that corruption and organised crime are becoming disturbingly intertwined within the council’s financial dealings., where, As the old saying goes—Hartlepool Borough Council appears to be getting increasingly ‘untouchable’, and this latest scandal only seems to be reinforcing that perception.
