Jail for man caught with a kilo of cocaine
AMAN linked to a gang which hid huge amounts of drugs inside vehicle tyres has been jailed.
The criminals also stored cocaine in fridge freezers to avoid detection.
John Myles, of Square Street, Ramsbottom, was jailed for three years and four months after being caught with a 1kg bag of high-purity cocaine.
He was among nine men who were jailed for a total of 73 years after an investigation by ‘Titan’, the North West’s regional organised crime unit.
The gang, led by John McMahon and Phillip Dyer from Liverpool, were caught moving cocaine to the West Yorkshire area. They also moved ecstasy, amphetamine and cocaine to other organised criminals in Merseyside.
They were caught after officers followed McMahon first to a flat in Garston then to a meeting in a café on October 2 with co-con- spirator Colin Rafferty, from Huyton.
A large bag full of drugs was exchanged. Rafferty was then observed driving in his Ford Fiesta to 1st Class Tyres in Brickfields, Huyton and carrying a holdall inside.
When officers raided the business minutes later they found Rafferty and another gang member stuffing large packages of drugs into the cavity between a tyre and a wheel rim.
The garage was being used to store and organise the onward distribution of Class A and B drugs. In total, 20,000 ecstasy tablets, 1kg of cocaine and 4kg of amphetamine were found at 1st Class Tyres.
When officers searched the flat they found nearly 100kg of amphetamine and M-cat worth an estimated £2 million hidden in fridges and holdalls within the premises.
Myles, 22, came to Liverpool from his home in Ramsbottom to collect a packet of high purity cocaine from two members of the gang.
The transaction took place in the city centre but police followed Myles and a female associate along the M62 and arrested them in Cheshire.
Myles tried to run away, leaving the drugs in the car, but patrols caught him hiding in undergrowth nearby.
McMahon, 45, of Titchfield Street, Vauxhall, Liverpool was jailed for 13 years and 4 months. Dyer, 53, of Reading Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool got 10 years and 10 months. Rafferty, 29, of Hillside Avenue, Huyton was locked up for 6 years and 8 months.
A further five men also received jail sentences.