A criminal who bought cocaine after it was stolen from a Liverpool gang received letters from jailed murderer Dale Cregan.
Richard Caswell conspired with the Cox brothers to steal a 30kg cocaine haul from a house on Croxdale Road West. A father and son were slashed and beaten during the violent robbery when over £1m of cocaine was stolen by Caswell, Jason and Craig Cox.
Last month Manchester Crown Court heard how the Cox brothers soon began selling the stolen drugs to criminal associates across the city. Michael Nevin, who worked as a courier for the Cox gang, contacted East Manchester drug boss Leon Atkinson.
READ MORE: Liverpool stash house raid led police to Dale Cregan associate
Atkinson sent a pal of his to meet Nevin near the Manchester City ground in the Openshaw area of the city. At the handover Nevin sold six kilograms of cocaine to Nathan Powell, who used the Encro handle 'Festivetape.'
After the handover Atkinson was back in touch and said he wanted to buy another seven kgs of drugs. The sprawling criminal conspiracy was exposed after police penetrated the EncroChat phone network.
Today (Monday) Richard Wright QC, told Manchester Crown Court how police found 'prison letters' from Dale Cregan when they searched Atkinson's home in June 2020. The letters, found by police in a chest of drawers, were addressed to 'AKI'.
Cregan, from East Manchester, murdered police officers Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32 in a gun and grenade attack which shocked the country.
Cregan also murdered David Short, 46, and son Mark, 23 as part of a bloody gang war in East Manchester. Cregan was handed a whole life sentence in 2013.
Atkinson was cleared of murdering Mark Short and three counts of attempted murder after trial in 2013.
Today (Monday) Mr Wright QC told the court how Nathan Powell took on six of the kilos from Atkinson. A criminal using the Encro handle 'Summerbrow' took the remaining seven kilos.
Mr Wright said that Atkinson had a claw hammer in his bedside drawer. Atkinson responded with a 'no comment' to all questions put to him by police.
Sentencing, the Recorder of Manchester, Judge Nicholas Dean QC , said that the penetration of the EncroChat phone network had revealed a level of criminality rarely seen by the courts.
Judge Dean said that Atkinson,44, was a regional supplier of cocaine who worked for a major criminal. Judge Dean said that Atkinson had been involved in the supply of 28kg of Class A drugs.
Judge Dean also said that Atkinson was involved in a conspiracy to launder millions of pounds of drug money. Atkinson, of Brindley Close, Atherton, was jailed for 15 years.
The well known Manchester based criminal had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and money laundering. Atkinson had used the Encro handles Carrothorn and Maidenbear.
Abdul Ghafar, 46, of Roberts Street, Nelson was jailed for eight years and eight months. Ghafar had pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Romiz Ahmed , 39 of Rossall Road, Rochdale was jailed for six years. He was found guilty of money laundering after a trial.
Adam Marsden, 37, of Taunton Avenue in Rochdale, was jailed for nine years and eight months. He admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs and money laundering.
Last month Manchester Crown Court heard distressing details of how Caswell and the Cox brothers used tracking devices to plan the robbery on the stash house. The court was played CCTV and police bodycam footage which showed the aftermath of the raid.
Ben Monks-Gorton, 30, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit to robbery, was jailed for six years and nine months. Michael Nevin, 35, who worked as a courier for the Cox gang, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to possess criminal property.
Nevin was jailed for nine years and nine months.
Caswell will be sentenced with Jason Cox, Craig Cox, Lee Cox later this month. The four men have pleaded guilty to drug offences and possessing criminal property.
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