UK Drug kingpins jailed for 147 years

A gang of criminals – including one sporting a full face tattoo – have been jailed for 147 years after they were caught trying to flood Britain’s streets with Class A drugs.

Tattooed Ben Monaghan, 35, was a member of an organised crime gang who ran an intricate network of couriers and dealers across the UK.

Liam Stray, 37, Paul Bush, 38, and Stuart Bailey, 33, were in charge of 17 men and women who transported and sold drugs.

Detectives found regular arrangements for the purchase of 71 per cent purity cocaine from Luton and Manchester before being transported to Northampton.

East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) uncovered that the gangsters diluted down the drug with dangerous chemicals to push onto the streets.

EMSOU bust the UK scheme with help from Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Greater Manchester Police and recovered £85,000 in cash as well as 125g of heroin.

In total, 32 courier runs by the couriers run by Stray and Bush were linked to the Luton area, which would have supplied in excess of 9.5kg (21lbs) of high-purity cocaine with a street value of £4 million.

A further three drugs exchanges were identified between Bailey and a Manchester group with an estimated exchange of 1.5 kilos of cocaine.

Stray, of Earls Barton, Northamptonshire, was jailed for 12 years and eight months at Northampton Crown Court on Friday.

Bush, of Rushden, Northamptonshire, was caged for 12 years and Bailey, of Raunds, Northamptonshire, received ten years and eight months behind bars.

All the defendants, except Tony Bolton, 42, of Rushden and Brian Kingsnorth, 33, of Corby, Northamptonshire, admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

Kingsnorth was found guilty and Bolton admitted a different charge or money laundering.

They were jailed with the 15 other defendants for a total of 112 years and three months.

Sentencing the gang, Judge Michael Fowler said: ‘Drugs kill people. They ruin lives, not just of those who take them, but the lives of their families.

‘Ruin lives of many children. All of you know that. Many know as you’ve seen through your own lives what drugs do to people and families.

‘It is a deep-seated problem, made probable because people like you continue to feed flames. Too greedy and shallow to balance desire for easy money against damage you do.

‘What makes your actions particularly stupid is penalties are so great it makes no sense to risk it for the short term benefit you get from money. It’s plain some of you are just bad.’

The sentences they received

Liam Stray, 37, of Earls Barton, received 12 years and eight months.Paul Bush, 38, of Rushden, received 12 years.Ben Monaghan, 35, of no fixed address, received 10 years.Charles Holland, 32, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, received 10 years.George Russell, 31, of Wellingborough, received four years.Daniel Coxall-Carr, 25, of Wellingborough, received nine years.Jamie McKinnon Phillips, 36, of Wellingborough:, received six years and four months.Helen Moore, 28, of Irchester, Northamptonshire, received five years and four months.Nathan Inkley, 24, of Irchester, received two years and two months.Will Owens, 24, of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, received three years and eight months.John Parker, 50, of Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, received six years.Brian Kingsnorth, 33, of Corby, received 12 years.Nathan Rennoldson, 24, of Irthlingborough, received four years and eight months.Armajit Singh Sembhi, 73, of Wellingborough, received six years.Stuart Bailey, 33, of Raunds, received 10 years and eight months.Callum Mains, 31 of Raunds, received four years and four months.Tony Bolton, 42 of Rushden, received nine months, suspended for two years.Tauyyub Ulshan, 31, of Bury, Greater Manchester, received 10 years and eight months.Bradley Nathan Hall, 31, of Bury, received five years and eight months.Michael James Campbell, 28, of Bury, received six years.Paul Greenwood, 28, of Bury, received five years and eight months.