A former cage fighter, who led a crime ring that trafficked "industrial quantities" of drugs between Merseyside and the North East, is still on the run despite being sentenced.
Former MMA fighter Darren Towler, 41, led a gang that flooded the North East with millions of pounds of import-strength cocaine, which was supplied by Merseyside gangsters Ricky Hemmings and John Campbell. Towler. Towler oversaw the supply of cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis across the North.
On Monday, the sentencing of Towler's sister, Anita Towler, 43, and of another group member, Steven Ruddick, 38, was adjourned. The court heard that Anita Towler, of Second Street in Consett, is "in conflict" with her brother and that Ruddick's barrister and the prosecution are yet to agree on the extent of his role in the drugs operation.
