Warrington man part of jailed drugs gang

Ryan Hackett

Plot was based in Wigan

Four further men involved in plots to sell heroin and cocaine with a street value of up to £740,000 are today beginning jail terms totalling 30 years.

This brings the total jail term so far for the drugs gang to 78 years, after four other men were jailed in February 2012.

The men were caught as part of an investigation conducted by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, which centred on a conspiracy to buy class A drugs in London and sell them on the streets of Wigan.

They were today Monday, 2 April 2012, sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court.

Benson Okali (born 25/08/1976), of Gardner Court, Kelvin Grove, London, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was found guilty following a trial in February and was sentenced today to 15 years.

The following men pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing:

Dean Jones (born 31/10/1980) of Eastgarth, Platt Bridge, Wigan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to eight years and eight months.

Ryan Hackett, born 19/12/1974, of Cliftonville Rd, Warrington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and was sentenced to three years.

Keith Prescott (born 23/11/1960), of Warrington Road, Abram, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to three years and four months.

The following men were sentenced on 28 February 2012.

Daniel Tang (born 06/12/1976) of Legh Street, Golborne, was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine following a 35 day long trial. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

John Rasburn, (born 04/06/1977), of Gibson Street, Bickershaw, Wigan pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Lee Harris (born 28/01/1972), of Warrington Road, Abram, has been convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was found guilty following a trial and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Kurt Blondell (born 20/02/1981) of Anglesey House, Lindfield Street, London, has been convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was found guilty following a trial and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

This case involved two separate conspiracies - one to sell heroin, the other to sell cocaine.

Tang and Rasburn were at the head of an organised crime group operating in the Wigan area. They arranged, through Dean Jones, large quantities of drugs to be brought to Wigan from London and were considered by many in the community to be 'untouchable' by the authorities.

Okoli and Blondell, both based in London, used Dedier to bring large amounts of cocaine north to Wigan. Tang and Rasburn used Harris and Prescott as couriers, taking cash to their London connections before returning north with the drugs.

Tang and Rasburn were also involved in the heroin business, coordinating transactions with the assistance of Dean Jones. On 21 April 2010 Hackett was observed handing a bag of 3kg heroin over to Kelvin Jones, the drugs being seized upon the arrest of Kelvin Jones by police.

In June 2010, the covert operation by The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit led to officers recovering a further two kilos of cocaine from a house in Platt Bridge on 17 June. In the house were Rasburn, Dean Jones and Dedier, who had just brought the drugs up from London. He had been driven to the North West by Okoli and the hand-over arranged by Blondell.

When Dedier, Rasburn and Jones were arrested, the other conspirators made a number of frantic calls between themselves in a desperate attempt to find out what went wrong.

With several cohorts now locked up, Tang used other to travel to London to courier the cash and drugs.

Prescott and Harris were dispatched to London where they met Okoli and exchanged cash for drugs before returning to Wigan.

Detective Inspector Michael Fraser, of The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: "This case proves that we have listened to the concerns of local residents and acted on them.

"No criminal is untouchable and this success demonstrates that, with the right information, we can arrest anyone.

"This investigation has been possible because of the collaboration of the North West forces. Several different tiers of organised crime involved in the supply and distribution of class A controlled drugs throughout the North West have been removed.

"The message should be clear, with the collaboration of the North West forces under NWROCU we will continue to target those criminals who commit serious offences that cross force boundaries

• Tweet

More from Local

• The soldier killed in yesterday's terrorist killing is named
• Appeal To Find Missing Bike
• Cash stolen during Warrington pub break-in

Facebook user?

Join our club today!