Drugs cause misery and wreck lives, while dealers profit from the vile industry. Judges regularly hand dealers long prison sentences, reflecting how seriously these crimes are taken by the courts.
And the Manchester Evening News is regularly there to report on these shocking cases. Here are some of the recent cases where dealers were taken off the streets.
Nine dealers from 'Portuguese Mafia' cuckooing gang
This vile cuckooing gang terrorised addicts in Rochdale and even used children to deal drugs. Nine dealers were locked up for their roles in drugs conspiracies.
The gang, known as the '706' and the 'Portuguese Mafia', deliberately targeted addicts before taking over their homes and using them as a base for their crimes, peddling cocaine, heroin and cannabis. As part of the investigation three children were removed from the area for their own safety, and a further five were 'safeguarded' using other methods.
Four adults were relocated for their protection. Bekhtullah Abasi, 24, Samuel Djassi, 24, Rafael Ernesto, 20, Mohammed Latif, 49, Karan Singh, 29, Manuel Vanduno, 21, Glen Kabambe, 24, Pascal Lupaka, 20, and Pacheli Ndele, 24, were all locked up.
Djassi, of Stavordale, Rochdale; Latif, of Tweedale Street, Rochdale; Abasi, of St John's Drive, Rochdale; Kabambe, of Longridge Drive, Rochdale; and Ndele, of Berwick Street, Rochdale; were convicted of conspiring to supply cocaine. Djassi, Vanduno, of Mount Street, Rochdale; Singh, of Ings Avenue, Rochdale; Ernesto, of no fixed address; and Kabambe were convicted of conspiring to supply cannabis.
Latif, Abasi and Ndele pleaded guilty to the same offence. Djassi was convicted of being concerned in the supply of heroin, and Ernesto and Lupaka, of Walk Mill Close, Rochdale, were convicted of a further count of conspiring to supply cocaine.
Abasi was jailed for nine years. Djassi was jailed for nine years. Ernesto was jailed for four years and six months. Latif was jailed for seven years.
Earlier this month, Singh was jailed for three years and six months. Vanduno was jailed for three years and six months. Kabambe was jailed for seven years and six months. Lupaka was jailed for four years and six months. Ndele was jailed for four years and six months.
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Double life of dealer who chatted with Terry f***ing Tibbs' and 'Tyrion Lannister'
Jared Williams was locked up for 13 years after being exposed as a big time dealer. Williams, 35, was another of the criminals exposed by the law enforcement hack of the EncroChat network.
A father, Williams was described as a 'valuable member of his family' and references submitted to the court spoke of him in 'extremely positive' terms. But he was found to be the criminal operating the 'Earthstrong' username on the highly secretive network.
He was in touch with other contacts on the network including those with usernames such as 'Terry f***ing Tibbs', a character from the Channel 4 comedy show Facejacker and 'Tyrion Lannister', one of the main characters from the hit TV show Game of Thrones. Williams dealt in cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and cannabis. Manchester Crown Court heard that he acquired and supplied at least 10 kilos of cocaine and MDMA, at least six kilos of ketamine and seven kilos of cannabis.
Williams, of Holly Avenue, Urmston, pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to supply drugs, and in June he was jailed for 12 years and nine months.
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'Nardo' gang produced cannabis on 'industrial scale'
Members of the Rochdale and Bury based 'Nardo' drugs gang supplied millions of pounds worth of cannabis across the UK. The firm produced cannabis on an 'industrial scale', with the drugs being produced in massive industrial units in St Helens and Bacup.
They also sold cannabis to a Northern Ireland based organised crime group. Their downfall began after a deal between the Nardo gang and the Irish gang.
When the drugs were being transported in Northern Ireland, a haybale containing 50kg of the drug fell off a horsebox and was seized by police. CCTV footage of the horsebox after this led police to estimate that there was at least 100kg inside it, worth £500,000.
The police launched an investigation into the cannabis conspiracy and last month members of the gang were sentenced. Glen Sinclair, 40, of Bacup, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison. Lahert Pone, 32, of New Barn Lane, Rochdale, was jailed for three years and six months. Tedi Hyesani, 28, of St Peters Street, Rochdale, was sentenced to two years and six months.
Luke Spencer, 30, of Thrum Hall Lane, Rochdale, was jailed for two years. Andrew Hall, 55, of Wycherley Road, Rochdale, was jailed for three years and four months. Eneo Zace, 34, of Lakeside, Bury, was jailed for six years.
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Discovery of MDMA tablets disguised as cat food led to gang's downfall
A discovery by Border Force led this drugs gang to be smashed. Police raided a property in Denton after Border Force intercepted a parcel for 'S Dowling' from the Netherlands, addressed to the house.
The package, disguised as cat food, was found to contain MDMA tablets with a street value of more than £40,000. Pearce Dowling, 26, used his middle name, which begins with 'S', to try and hide his identity. The property's rent was paid for by another dealer, Charlie Jacob, 25.
The raid allowed police to piece together the details of the rest of the gang's operation. Jacob, of Moss Bank Avenue, Droylsden, received 10 years for conspiracy to supply Methylamphetamine, cocaine, ketamine, cannabis, and fraud.
In May, Dowling, of Boothdale Drive, Audenshaw, received nine years and nine months for conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition, as well as supplying methylamphetamine, cocaine, ketamine, and cannabis. He also received a concurrent sentence for money laundering and producing cannabis.
Callum Hindle, 26, of Withnell Road, Manchester, was given seven years and six months for conspiracy to supply MDMA, cocaine, and ketamine. Adrian Fox, 30, of Lower Edge Avenue, Oldham, was given 32 months for producing cannabis, supplying cannabis, and possessing criminal property.
All defendants pleaded guilty. Sentencing, Judge John Potter, described it as a 'remarkable case' as the main offenders had no previous convictions.
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International drugs gang linked to huge amounts of cocaine
"As long as I can make money that's all that matter...", one member of the international drugs gang said. Adam Marsden, 37, sent the frank message on the EncroChat network, which was successfully hacked by law enforcement. Alongside other dealers he was involved in multi kilo deals of cocaine.
His co-defendant Leon Atkinson, 44, described as a 'regional' cocaine supplier who sold on drugs imported into the UK by a contact, was linked to at least 28 kilos of the class A drug. Marsden was linked to 12 kilos and Nathan Powell, 33, to 13 kilos, with the pair being described as 'distributors'.
Abdul Ghafar, 46, was also said to be involved in drug dealing. Atkinson, of Brindley Close, Atherton, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Ghafar, of Halifax Road, Nelson; Marsden, of Taunton Avenue, Rochdale; Powell, of Cheney Close, Openshaw; admitted one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. All four men admitted conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
In May, Atkinson was jailed for 15 years. Marsden and Powell both received nine years and eight months, and Ghafar was sentenced to eight years and eight months.
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Former cricket starlet and graduates exposed as dealers
A former cricket starlet who had dreams of turning pro and two university graduates were exposed as drug dealers. Nicholas Doyle's ambitions as an 'extremely promising' cricketer were dashed after injury cut short his playing career.
Michalis Papangelis, 28, was described as an 'intelligent and 'well educated' graduate from an 'excellent background', and Daniel Moscrop, 35, was a graduate of Salford University. But all three were jailed for their involvement in drug dealing, which was exposed after the hacking of the EncroChat network.
Police learned Papangelis, who lived in a plush apartment block in Ancoats, was involved in commercial drug dealing and was linked to about 25 kilos of cocaine. Alongside Moscrop, from Wythenshawe, and Doyle, 28, from Failsworth, Papangelis was embroiled in a plot to flood the streets with around 22 kilos of ketamine.
And Papangelis and Moscrop were also involved in plans to deal about 10 kilos of cannabis. Last month Doyle was jailed for seven years and two months, Papangelis to 12 years and nine months, and Moscrop to three years and nine months.
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Dad exposed as big time drugs boss
Dad-of-two Darren Midgley was exposed as a big time drugs boss. Midgley, a drugs 'wholesaler' within the criminal underworld, sent pictures of £100,000 in cash and huge blocks of cocaine on EncroChat under the username 'BigLobos'.
He was linked to at least 11-and-a-half kilos of the class A drug, and was part of a wider criminal network profiting from cocaine. Midgley's home had undergone extensive renovations and he had three expensive watches.
Midgley, of Dinsdale Close, Miles Platting, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, and was jailed for 15 years in May.
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Gang which imported cocaine from Columbia
Ian Cary was part of an international drugs gang which imported cocaine into the UK from Colombia via the postal service and UK ports. Another man, Matthew Record, contacted other criminals to buy kilos of cocaine for cash. The pair were both locked up following the EncroChat hack.
"The trade in which you were involved was a vile one," the judge told the pair. Cary, 49, of Osterley Road, Blackley, pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and two counts of fraudulently evading a prohibition.
Record, 39, of Pemburey Way, Halewood, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to supply a class A drug. In May Cary was jailed for nine years and nine months, while Record was sentenced to six years and nine months.
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Oldham crime family flooded streets with cocaine and heroin
An Oldham based organised crime family flooded the streets with almost 100 kilos of cocaine and heroin worth millions of pounds. Faizal Hussain Jnr, 31, was locked up for 16 years in April for his role in the huge drugs ring.
His father Faizal Hussain Snr was also alleged as being involved in the plot. A court heard that he has 'fled from justice'. The gang were linked to more than 96 kilos of heroin and cocaine.
Rezwan Javed, 45, also known as Raja Res, acted as a courier for the gang and was jailed for eight years. Hussain Jnr, of Cranbrook Street, Oldham, and Javed, of Meadow Close, Burnley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
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Lockdown drugs gang in cross-Pennine conspiracy
Jack Smedley headed a 'well-organised' drugs gang which ran cocaine and heroin between Greater Manchester and north Yorkshire during lockdown. The gang advertised £10 deals peddling the drugs in a cross-Pennine conspiracy.
Police said they believed 'vulnerable people' - including children - were used to store drugs at 'cuckooed' properties in York. Smedley, 24, of Heppleton Road, Moston, will serve 13 years behind bars after receiving a four-and-a-half year additional sentence to the eight-and-a-half year term he was ordered to serve in April for further supply of class A drugs to York, following a hearing in October last year.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs; and a separate offence aggravated vehicle taking. Daniel Halford, 36, of HMP Forest Bank, was sentenced to three years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs
Simon Potter, 49, of Leicester Way, York, was jailed for two years and 10 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Marc Simpson, 55, of Wilberforce Avenue, York, was sentenced to two years after admitting conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Georgia Leigh, 23, of Bowling Green Close, Oldham, was sentenced to four years and two months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, including 10 months for conveying 'list A' articles into prison, namely class A drugs, mobile phones, cannabis and tobacco.
For more of today's headlines, visit here
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