Take Mango, Shannon Hilton’s pet yellow bird. Hilton thought it was cute to teach Mango to say “two for 25”—slang used by drug dealers for “two portions of cocaine for £25.”
Shannon even filmed it, apparently for posterity.
She wasn’t the only member of the gang documenting her own crimes.
That footage, along with other gems, later surfaced in a police raid as evidence of Hilton’s role as second-in-command of her boyfriend Adam Garnett’s £1 million drug gang, which operated in Blackpool, England, between February 2023 and July 2024.
The gang’s downfall began with Lancashire Police’s Operation Warrior, a task force targeting serious and organized crime. Phones smuggled into Garnett’s prison cell were traced to other members soon found to be in possession of heroin, crack cocaine, ketamine and cannabis, and revealed Mango, caught on camera playing with drug money while Hilton coached her in the street lingo of narcotics.
Hilton also filmed a sweeping montage of kilo blocks of cocaine set to Eric Clapton’s song named after the drug.
She wasn’t the only member of the gang documenting her own crimes. Gareth Burgess recorded a selfie video rapping about drug dealing while strolling through Blackpool with a wad of cash, earning himself seven years and seven months behind bars.
Detective Sergeant Anthony Alves says the gang’s operation was sophisticated.
Unfortunately for them, the gang members were not.
On August 4, 15 of them were sentenced to more than 103 years collectively. Garnett—already serving a 15-year sentence—received an additional 19 years and six months, while two members remain at large with arrest warrants issued.
It is unclear whether Mango the Parrot has been caged as a potential flight risk or granted immunity and enrolled in the Warbler Protection Program. Either way, her cooperation with law enforcement is appreciated.
