Blackpool trio jailed as drugs ring smashed

The crime gang, responsible for drugs trade in Merseyside, across the north of England, and into the Isle of Man, was sentenced to more than 200 years after being convicted of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.

Following a huge police operation, 22 men,from the top of the chain right down to the couriers on the ground, are now behind bars for the roles they played in distributing heroin, cocaine, and cannabis.

They include Josh Baker, 28, from Tewkesbury Avenue, South Shore, who bought Class A drugs from the organised crime groups. He was sentenced to nine years and four months.

Robert Tate-Potts, 31, from Blackpool, was another regional dealer. He was jailed for 11 years.

And Aaron Sankey, 23, of Balmer Grove, Blackpool, was a prolific courier. He was sentenced to eight years.

Det Ch Inspector Steve Reardon said: “As a result of an 18 month investigation into this group we were able to build up a strong evidential case and put those involved before the courts were justice has been done. The short-lived lavish lifestyle they lived has now gone.”

During a series of raids, officers seized £250,000 in cash, designer clothes and shoes, jewellery and watches, furniture, electrical items like high value TVs, fitness equipment, sports memorabilia, and expensive cars.

All the seized goods, worth around £200,000, were loaded into removals vans and on to flat-bed vans and taken away by a specialist auction company.

They can now be sold under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Drugs seized

During the investigation, detectives seized 1.5kg of heroin, 2.5kg of cocaine, and 53kg of cannabis with an estimated total street value of £453,000, police said.