Three men jailed for a total of over 30 years following investigation into drug supply in the North West.

This week (6 December 2022), three men appeared at Manchester Crown Court to be sentenced for their roles in a north Manchester based organised crime group, who conspired to flood the region with Class A drugs including heroin and cocaine.

• David Murphy, (30/08/1984), of Chambersfield Court, Salford, was jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
• Aaron Turner, (06/05/1986), of Weybourne Drive, Stockport, was jailed for 8 years after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
• Anthony Farrell, (28/09/1981), of Rygate Walk, Cheetham Hill, was jailed for 10 years, 5 months, after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

The investigation formed part of GMPs ‘Operation Praslin’, which was set up to investigate the supply of drugs and money laundering in the North West. The three defendants, who were identified as being key members in a predominately north Manchester based OCG, were found to have defined roles, Murphy being head of the group, with Turner in charge of storing the drugs and Farrell being the courier.

The three men were identified due to the messages they sent to each other using the ‘Encrochat’ messaging system, which is a sophisticated encrypted system, used by criminals to attempt to evade police detection. Detectives were able to download hundreds of messages between the group where they discovered a large scale drugs conspiracy.

On the 11th February 2021, officers raided a house in Cheetham Hill and seized equipment commonly used by drug dealers, such as a large hydraulic press, scales and numerous mobile phones, as well as large amounts of packaging.
Both Murphy and Farrell were inside the address at the time of the raid and were subsequently arrested. Also found at the address were keys to a Volkswagen Passatt, which was located nearby and on inspection, was found to have a secret compartment behind the back seats, activated by an electronic fob.

Further raids at an address in Cheetham Hill uncovered large amounts of expensive property linked to the group, which was also seized as evidence. Turner was then arrested at his home address in Stockport.

Detective Inspector Simon Akker, of GMPs Serious and Organised Crime Group, said: “This investigation took months of hard work by detectives who launched a proactive investigation as part of GMPs ongoing crackdown on drug supply in the region.

“These criminals tried various methods to try and evade police such as using secret compartments in their vehicles and utilising Encrochat to communicate in secret, but unfortunately for them, we were a step ahead and monitored the group until we had enough evidence to go in and make those arrests.

“Our main aim as the police, is to keep the public safe, and our work to make sure these people are taken off our streets will never end. Drugs destroy our local communities and help to fund serious crime, which is why it is so important that we continue to receive information from the public about possible drug related criminal activity.

"As always, we would ask that anyone with information or anyone with concerns to contact us as we work to disrupt serious crime across the region. Intelligence from members of the public continuously helps us with our on-going investigations - no matter how small the information may seem.

"Anyone with information should report it online or by using our LiveChat service at www.gmp.police.uk. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."