‘Another significant blow to organised crime in Greater Manchester’
Detectives knew it wasn’t a typical, ‘street-level’ operation. They’d been covertly watching for six months, meticulously gathering evidence. Soon, the sheer scale of the empire would become clear.
When officers burst into the north Manchester flat the gang had taken over, the true scale of the illicit business was laid bare. The massive, £1.8m drugs ring has now crumbled.
The organised crime group dealt cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, MDMA and other hard drugs in wholesale quantities for at least eight months up to last October, police say.
Manchester Crown Court was told that in October last year, cops swooped and arrested nine people. Huge quantities of drugs were seized.
The operation was on an ‘industrial scale’. Those involved used encrypted mobiles phones and apps to communicate, with huge quantities of illicit substances moved by ‘trusted couriers’ having been stored at safe houses and two self-storage units in Heywood.
As members of the gang faced justice this week, police named the ‘mastermind’ fugitive behind the outfit as Thomas Hunt. Cops say he ‘sat at the head’ of the operation. He was ‘at the centre of everything the group did’.
Hunt, of Bonny Brow Street, Middleton is believed to have left the country, Manchester Crown Court was told. He is wanted by police, who say he is being ‘actively sought for arrest’. The force has vowed: “We will catch up with him.”
Hunt’s ‘right-hand man’ was his cousin, 33 year-old Dylan Robinson. The ‘logistics controller’ was ‘hands-on’ in the day-to-day running of the illegal business. He directed the group’s couriers and conducted exchanges of drugs and cash.
Robinson and Hunt were helped by Hunt’s brother, Anthony Hunt, 40, who played a ‘very significant role’. Another man said to be ‘intimately involved’ was James Close.
Close was an associate of Salford gangster Jamie Rothwell, police said. In separate criminal proceedings, the 44-year-old, of Henry Street, Leigh, appeared in court alongside Rothwell and was found guilty of drug and gun crimes. He was handed a 36-year sentence.
While on remand at Forest Bank prison, Close ‘relied upon’ his then partner – 40-year-old Lisa Prescott – to continue his business dealings, police said.
Prescott was one of nine people sentenced for their part in the operation this week. Six were handed jail terms, with three others – including Prescott – handed suspended sentences.
Due to the length of the sentence he is already serving, it was deemed not to be in the public interest to bring fresh charges against Close.
Detectives say members of the group thought they were ‘untouchable’. “They were wrong,” GMP said. It was during a meeting between Prescott and Anthony Hunt at a flat in Crumpsall on October 4, that officers finally swooped.
That was four days before before a planned ‘strike day’, but ‘unexpected’ events meant cops decided to act early. Images released by GMP show huge parcels of drugs after massive seizures.
Images of lock-ups the gang used have also been released, giving a glimpse into the scale of the operation. Inside the flat, on Moss Bank, 11kg of ‘high-purity’ cocaine – with an estimated wholesale value of between £308,000 and £352,000 – was found, as well as a drugs press and 5kg of adulterants to ‘bulk-out’ drugs.
A disposable rubber glove had Anthony Hunt’s DNA. Another had Prescott’s, as well as traces of cocaine residue. The pair were arrested.
Four days later, as originally planned, police carried out a series of simultaneous raids at the homes other members of the group. At Robinson’s property in Middleton, officers found just under 42g of cocaine; 442g of diamorphine; ‘various other amounts of drugs’ – including cannabis gummies and ketamine – adulterants, scales and a debtor’s list.
The drugs found there were said to have been worth between £50,972 and £54,972. Police also found keys for for two units, at the ‘Afford-a-Store’ Heap Bridge and ‘Afford-a-Store’ Collopgate sites in Heywood.
Robinson, the court was told, was responsible for those units. In one, police found 792g of cocaine; 43.7g of crack cocaine; 85g of cannabis; just under 120g of cannabis; a drugs press; clear bags; scales; and plastic bowls. Some 224 rounds of ammunition was discovered and deemed to be viable following testing.
In the other lock-up, where it is believed drugs were being prepared as well as stored, officers found 1.14kg of heroin; 6,903 MDMA tablets; 400 packets of THC edibles; digital scales; food bags; and cling film. The total of value of the drugs there was £62,604.50.
When courier Graham Sykes, 63, was arrested on the Woodhead Pass in August last year, he had almost 1kg of cocaine in his car. A ‘recently harvested’ cannabis farm with 14 plants was also found in an outhouse during a search of his Moston home.
At the Gorton home of fellow courier Stanley Ainsley, 58 – who also acted as ‘store man’ – 6.4kg of amphetamine; just under 220g of cocaine; and a little over 35g of diamorphine was found – as well as £4,205 in cash.
Long-standing drug addict Thomas Lockwood, 60, acted as the group’s ‘quality control’ and ‘drug tester’. At his flat in Moss Bank Court in Collyhurst, police found a drugs press. The court heard Lockwood, who was had run up a drug debt with Thomas Hunt to the tune of £7,000, wasn’t living there at the time had ‘allowed it to be used’.
Robert Earnshaw was the partner of Thomas Hunt’s daughter. Police said that relationship ‘gave him access to the group’s inner circle’. He ran his own ‘local drug dealership’ in Rochdale, sending out ‘flare’ text messages advertising drugs for sale. At his home, police found a ‘large bag’ of cannabis and £2,215 in cash.
Officers seized 15kg of cocaine; 6kg of amphetamine; 2kg of heroin; and 7,000 ecstasy tablets. Cops put a £1.8m figure on the whole operation.
Following the conclusion of the two-day sentencing hearing on Friday (December 12), GMP said in a statement: “This is another significant blow to organised crime in Greater Manchester. This was not a street-level operation – it was a highly structured, with drugs being dealt and shipped across the country on an industrial scale.
“Everyone involved in this operation showed determination to succeed, stay undetected and profit from their ill-gotten gains. They were motivated purely by greed, with no regard for the devastation that Class A drugs cause our communities.
“Our officers worked tirelessly throughout this investigation, deploying covert tactics and surveillance to dismantle the gang. The sheer quantity of drugs seized – more than £1.8m worth – alongside ammunition and cash, demonstrates the scale of harm that has been prevented. These jail sentences send a clear message – if you choose to engage in organised crime, we will find you, and we will put you in prison.
“Our work does not stop here, our attention firmly remains on capturing Thomas Hunt and bringing him to justice, we are utilising all of the powers available to us and we will catch up with him.”
Full list of defendants and sentences
Stanley Ainsley, 58, of Birch Street, Gorton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, possession with intent to supply diamorphine and amphetamine and was jailed for eight years and seven months
Rachel Blackburn-Stanley, 35, of Rudston Avenue, Moston, admitted participating in the activities of an organised crime group. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for nine months. She was also ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days
Robert Earnshaw, 29, of Eastwood Road, New Moston, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and producing cannabis and was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
Aiden Hopkins, 31, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was handed a sentence of three years and nine months in prison.
Anthony Hunt, 40, of Rudston Avenue, Moston, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession with intent to supply diamorphine and was jailed for 11 years and three months.
Thomas Lockwood, 60, of Kentford Drive, Collyhurst, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for a year. He was also ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
Lisa Prescott, 40, of Henry Street, Leigh, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. She was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for a year. She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days
Dylan Robinson, 33, of Fallows Avenue, Middleton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, possession with intent to supply both MDMA and diamorphine and possession of ammunition without a firearms certificate. He was jailed for 12 and a half years.
Graham Sykes, 63, of Moston Lane, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and producing cannabis. He was sentenced to five years and three months in prison
