Manchester’s gangsters’ molls exposed: They boast lavish lifestyles, are dripping with cash and look like Barbies… but these are the women linked to the city’s most notorious criminals

Manchester has become known as the ‘Dubai of the north’ following the city’s astonishing transformation over the last thirty years.

Its glittering skyscrapers, designer hotels and luxury restaurants now form a playground for a new generation of influencers, entrepreneurs and footballers with money to burn.

The rows of greasy spoon cafes have been replaced by trendy coffee shops where Molly-Mae poses for selfies.

And the grisly clans that once dominated the city’s nightclubs and security companies have faded in their influence, replaced by ruthless young drug dealers who have their eyes on a different prize.

Insiders say the new generation of Mancunian drug dealers have shifted away from the petty disputes and turf wars that previously blighted the city in the 90s.

Lifestyle and wealth are now more important than grudges and respect on the street.

And any violence tends to be associated with crime groups from the perimeters of the city such as Salford and Tameside.

As for the wives and girlfriends of the new gangs, they are often spotted prowling the aisles in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, hunting for the latest Chanel, Gucci, and Prada. And the likes of city centre restaurant San Carlo has replaced nightclubs as the place to be seen.

It’s a world of fake tan, dental veneers, fillers, enhanced breasts and regular trips to Dubai.

But the money is often linked to the city’s drug trade, which is still as grubby as ever.

The Daily Mail has delved into lives of five of Manchester’s most glamorous gangsters’ molls, from a WAG who plotted the murder of her drug baron ex-husband to another who ‘doesn’t leave the house’ without him.

Holly Joyce in a £12,000 wedding dress as she married thug Dougie Joyce who was jailed for assaulting a pensioner in a Manchester pub

Holly and Dougie, who wed in July 2022, treated their guests to champagne on tap at a ceremony which cost £60,000

Nicola Morrissey, the moll of Kinahan Cartel mobster ‘Johnny Cash’ Morrissey, posing beside a £350,000 Rolls-Royce Dawn

Annie Webster wired £6,000 to her drug-dealer boyfriend Shawn O’Malley while he was on the run in Dubai

Coleen Campbell

Thomas and Coleen Campbell were typical of this generation of criminals who wanted to enjoy the good life – without working for it.

While it’s unclear exactly when Coleen first became a face in Manchester’s underworld, she was already heavily involved when she married major drug dealer Thomas in 2011.

Police began investigating the couple in 2014 and uncovered their role in the area’s cocaine trade.

The probe also revealed their lavish lifestyle, with the pair found to have spent more than £100,000 on luxury cars and holidays, despite their only legitimate income being benefits and Coleen’s part-time job at Matalan.

They both pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2019, and Thomas was jailed for two years while Coleen’s sentence was suspended.

But when Thomas was later released from prison the couple’s relationship began to deteriorate, amid accusations of cheating.

Coleen and Thomas enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, with the pair found to have spent more than £100,000 on luxury cars and holidays, before they were investigated for money laundering by police

Pictured: Coleen and Thomas on holiday. The pair split after he was accused of cheating with a friend

The pair had met in 2008 and married in 2011 before splitting up ten years later. Coleen then helped arrange the ‘barbaric killing’ of her cheating ex-husband

Coleen and Thomas (pictured on holiday, above) initially became notorious over a string extravagant trips abroad funded by their family-run cocaine trafficking racket 

In the days following Thomas’ murder, Coleen posted messages paying tribute to him

Thomas entered into a dispute with fellow Manchester criminal John Belfield after it emerged he had been dating one of his rival’s former partners.

Coleen used the children she shared with Thomas to glean information about his movements, which she shared with the enemy camp controlled by Belfield.

On the evening of June 28, 2022, Coleen, who had by then separated from Thomas, messaged Mr Belfield to say: ‘My little girl said yes it’s his house 100 per cent.’

Thomas was jumped as he arrived home after a night out in July 2022. Hired hands Reece Steven and Stephen Cleworth dragged the dad inside the house and then carried out a prolonged torture session. 

The two men dragged him around the property, battered him with a blunt instrument and at one point tortured him with boiling water. The victim was found dead the following morning wearing only a pair of socks.

Thomas, 38, was ambushed by three men as he opened his front door in Mossley, Greater Manchester

Coleen was found guilty of manslaughter in 2023 after a five-week trial 

Coleen pretended to be consumed with grief after it emerged Thomas had been murdered in his home.

She posted: ’13 years and two beautiful children. Forever grateful. I would do anything to hear your giddy laugh just one more time.’

She almost got away with it, until she exposed her involvement by detailing the exact nature of Thomas’ injuries when speaking to his grieving mother. She later claimed he appeared to her in a supernatural encounter.

She was found guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob after a trial and jailed for 13 years.

Prior to Thomas’s murder she took part in a brutal street attack when she battered a woman with a hammer while dressed in pink pyjamas.

Holly Joyce

North Manchester criminal Dougie Joyce took his prospective wife Holly on one of their first dates to the city’s San Carlo restaurant.

Joyce married the former Jet2 hostess in July 2022 in an extravagant £60,000 ceremony in Gorton Monastery that included four Rolls Royces, a £12,000 dress and a champagne bar.

The Joyces featured in an Amazon Prime documentary about their lives together as travellers in Manchester.

Holly, a mother-of-two, from Salford, described the romance as a ‘whirlwind that’s turned into a fairytale.’

The former air hostess also signed up to the traveller code, which forbids women from socialising independently from their husbands.

Holly Joyce, and her husband Dougie, from Manchester, had their first date in September 2019 after flirting back and forth on Instagram

Holly said she rarely leaves the house without her husband Dougie, unless she needs to go to the salon or the shops

She said: ‘He’s the man, so he can go out if he wants, but I’m the woman so I can really only go out with him. 

‘I can go to the salon or out to the shops on my own, but he’s very protective and worries about my safety if I’m out alone.’

While it was all smiles for the camera, Dougie struggled to contain his violent temper.

During a chance conversation with a pensioner in a Northern Quarter pub, the former amateur boxer unleashed a flurry of punches.

A shocking video of the attack showed the traveller and self styled businessman knock the recently widowed elderly man off his chair with three savage blows, before flooring him again after he got to his feet.

Earlier this year bizarre footage appeared of Joyce with former PM Liz Truss, who attended a promotional event for his new whiskey.

Joyce was recalled to prison after breaching his licence conditions after the bizarre incident.

Despite having to adapt to a new lifestyle, mother-of-two Holly said she loves being there for her husband and looking after him

Holly had never dated a traveller before meeting Dougie and said her family initially had reservations about the relationship – but she threw herself into the lifestyle

Holly in true travellers’ style has stood by her man and posts flattering videos of Dougie on social media despite the controversy surrounding him.

Sources in the north west have told the Mail that Dougie and his brother Johnnie, both notorious brawlers, have bad names in the region’s criminal community.

Dougie is said to have ‘ripped off’ a number of drug dealers, including Liverpool coke dealer Dean Deary.

The source said: ‘So Dougie took Dean to a block of flats in Manchester to do a deal of some type. Dean handed over a few grand to Dougie, who said he went into the building alone. 

‘Dean sat there waiting for around 30 minutes until he realised Dougie had made off with his cash. He had to drive back to Liverpool knowing he had been turned over.’

Maureen Fury

Tyson Fury’s uncle Peter’s name still carries weight in Manchester despite the fact he relocated to Oxfordshire several years ago.

Peter turned Tyson from a lanky novice into a world class fighter who outpointed Ukrainian colossus Wladimir Klitschko.

But back in the 90s, Peter was one of city’s biggest drug dealers, smuggling vast amounts of amphetamine from Belgium, which he transferred to an industrial unit in Helmshore, Rossendale. 

The drugs were then sold at raves and nightclubs across the north west.

Last year the Mail revealed how Fury imported a haul of military grade weapons into the UK during an attempt to pervert the course of justice. The haul of military grade weapons included Mac-10 machine guns and RPG, suggesting Fury was dealing with a major crime group on the continent.

Peter was also in dispute with Stockport drug boss Chris Little, who was later shot dead in the town.

Speaking to podcaster James English, Fury told how he grew up in the Accrington area of Lancashire and had to eke out living as a door to door salesman.

Fury told how he married Maureen when he was young and could not afford a honeymoon or take any time off work due to financial pressure.

Peter Fury posted an image with wife Maureen on X in 2018 where he called her the ‘Team Fury boss’

He told English how after serving out prison sentences for drug offences and money laundering, he vowed to turn his life around and break with his criminal past.

Peter has since paid tribute to his wife Maureen, posting on social media: ’34 years 6 kids 10 years jail & always been their for me.

This is loyalty & this is real family values. She is the Team fury Boss. As she’s earned it. Blessed.’

According to Companies House Maureen Fury launched a property company in 2004 which specialises in the selling of real estate and the management of land. 

Fury Developments Ltd owns caravan parks in Devon and across Cheshire, including the Holly Bank site near Warrington.

Nicola Morrisey

Johnny Morrisey and his wife Nicola waved goodbye to the Mancunian drizzle and started a new life in sunny Spain.

The Manchester Irish businessman and his wife controlled a successful vodka company and partied with celebrities in the Malaga area.

In an interview with Malaga’s Exclusive Life magazine, Nicola Morrissey said their plans for 2022 included ‘launching in Mallorca, Tenerife, the UK and we are finalising plans to launch in America!

‘We are also opening an exclusive, five-star wellness retreat overlooking the sea in La Cala.

‘We have been busy overseeing the luxury building project, gathering an expert team to deliver the latest therapies and treatments. We will have a full-time nutritionist, in-house yoga and meditation specialist, colonic hydrotherapy, cryotherapy and lots more.’

‘We are due to open in April 2022 and bookings are already rolling in.’

All was fine and dandy until a multi-agency police task force swooped to arrest Johnny and Nicola, from Glasgow, on suspicion of money laundering.

Johnny Morrisey and his wife Nicola share a property empire while enjoying their Nero premium vodka business in the Costa Del Sol. Father-of-two ‘Johnny Cash’ was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of money laundering

‘Johnny Cash’, so called because of his propensity to carry large wads of banknotes with him, is a Kinahan mobster and thought to have laundered money for the KOCG

His wife Nicola was also arrested (pictured) but released without charge

The US Department of Treasury, who took part in the raid, said that shares in Nero Vodka had been transferred to Daniel Kinahan after a drug shipment was seized in a raid.

Their statement read: ‘John Morrissey who outwardly serves as the Nero Drinks’ brand ambassador, is heavily invested in Nero Drinks and has given a significant portion of the business to Daniel Kinahan to compensate for loads of drugs seized by law enforcement.’

John Morrissey controls and operates Nero Drinks through his wife, the primary shareholder, who is used as a frontperson for his interests.

Images captured by Spanish media showed Nicola, then 48 sticking up her middle finger at photographers as she was led from the couple’s villa by officers with the Guardia Civil.

Nicola was later released without charge although Johnny spent time in custody. He spent 20 months in jail without charge before being released on bail last May and ordered not to leave Spain.

Annie Webster

As far as loyalty goes, Annie Webster proved she is willing to do anything for her drug-dealer partner Shawn O’Malley.

Then 25, she wired more than £6k to O’Malley’s account despite him being linked by police to a gangland shooting in Bolton on September 9, 2019 when a house was sprayed with bullets.

Police suspected that O’Malley organised the shooting on behalf of Warrington criminal Leon Cullen.

O’Malley, a well-known drug dealer from Warrington, later fled to Dubai while he was still on licence from prison.

Webster told the police that she had split from O’Malley in November 2019 and was no longer in contact with him.

However, she was found to have provided him with financial support, sending him thousands of pounds while on the run.

Annie Webster wired £6,066.85 to her partner Shawn O’Malley, who was linked by police to a shooting in Bolton on September 9, 2019. Pictured are the couple in a photo believed to have been taken at her Warrington home. It is not clear when the photo was taken, though it was posted on her Facebook account this year

Webster told the police that she had split from O’Malley in November 2019 and was no longer in contact with him

O’Malley, the well-known drug dealer from Warrington, fled to Dubai while he was still on licence from prison

During a search of her house police recovered a number of items including: A Western Union Money Transfer Document in her name, an Emirates Economy Boarding Pass in her name, and a receipt voucher for a Dubai based law firm

It emerged that Webster had even flown out to Dubai and wired the cash to her gangster boyfriend through a Dubai law firm.

After a police search and interview, Webster pleaded guilty to concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property.

Webster was sentenced to a two-year community order with a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement at Bolton Crown Court.

It came after crime boss Jamie Rothwell sent gunmen disguised as pizza delivery drivers to shoot individuals suspected of being associated with Cullen.

Cullen had fled Warrington for Dubai as Cheshire Police and the Rothwell mob closed in on his gang, however had his own soldiers, including enforcer O’Malley, carry out his orders.