SIX members of an alleged 22-strong cocaine gang are behind bars.
The men were sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Friday for their part in a massive drugs ring.
Two of the gang members from Ellesmere Port were described by Judge David Hale as playing ‘a leading role’ in the supply of cocaine to dealers across the UK from the town, as well as overseeing the setting up of a cannabis farm in Trelogan, North Wales.
Andrew Knox, 40, of Camden Road, and Lee Jones, 31, of Spunhill Avenue, were each sentenced to eight years, eight months in jail after they had earlier pleaded guilty.
Carl Sinclair Mattison, 37, of Swale Road, had also played a significant role in the cocaine supply and was sentenced to six years, eight months.
The sentencing comes following a huge monitoring operation by Cheshire police, who infiltrated the drugs base in Rossmore Industrial Estate in June 2010.
While there they discovered 637g of cocaine diluted with benzocaine and evidence Mattison and Jones were in regular telephone contact.
Secret surveillance cameras were set up in the factory to monitor the gang members’ activities until September 2010, when the hide was abandoned. During that time police officers were able to observe the factory was frequently visited.
Knox was discovered arranging a drugs delivery from Ellesmere Port to Barrow-in-Furness in October 11 that year, with Mattison the transporter, while October 14 saw the first evidence of cocaine delivered to Ellesmere Port.
The court heard Knox and Mattison would meet clients to do business in a variety of locations in 2011, from the Yeoman pub in Little Sutton to the BP service station at the Chester Posthouse roundabout, the KFC in Ellesmere Port, the car park of Simon’s Cafe and even the Blue Planet Aquarium, where three cocaine transactions were made.
All had been arrested by October 2011.
Neil Hall, 40, of Sarn Road, Holywell, North Wales, admitted setting up a cannabis farm at his Trelogan home and allowed Knox and Jones to run it. He was sentenced to two years, six months in jail.
Corey Davey, 20, of West Street, Chester, and Kurt Davey, 25, of Princes Road, were each sentenced to six months in addition to the two-year sentence in a young offenders institute and a 26-month prison term respectively, for separate offences. It was accepted by Judge Hale their ‘involvement was much less’ in the drugs operation.
Judge Hale added, in relation to all six: “There is no reason why each of them should not get the full credit for their early guilty plea.”
In addition to the drugs offences, Jones was also guilty of fraudulently owning several fuel cards, depriving Reynolds Logistics of £8,400. Jones received a concurrent six-month jail term for the offence.
A trial for other alleged gang members, who pleaded not guilty to their involvement, is expected to begin in October and last for four or five weeks.
