A Merseyside-led gang produced hundreds of kilos of amphetamine at a North Wales cottage as part of a “full service” drug production business.
Prosecutors say Anthony Saunderson, Paul Mount and Darren Owens each spearheaded an operation which stretched from Merseyside and North Wales across the UK.
The three men are currently being sentenced with six others at Liverpool Crown Court after being convicted of a range of drugs offences committed throughout 2020.
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Details of the multi-million pound scheme can be reported for the first time after a judge lifted reporting restrictions on the case.
Nicola Daley, prosecuting, said the group was discovered after the Encrochat messaging service, popular with criminals because of its high security, was hacked by law enforcement officers in mid-2020 as part of a cross border investigation. The National Crime Agency then discovered a slew of messages alluding to a drugs lab on the outskirts of Chester, just over the Welsh border, and which appeared to be used to produce amphetamine.
Officers from Merseyside Police and North Wales Police later discovered the cottage, on Deeside Lane, was being used by a gang to produce drugs there on a massive scale. Ms Daley said: “The North Wales investigation, codenamed Operation Bluesword, focused upon a drugs lab at 1 Wood Cottage, Deeside Lane, which was used to produce amphetamine on a multi-million-pound commercial scale and on occasions to produce or attempt to produce other class B drugs. On or about 1st May some of the defendants, who were undoubtedly paranoid about being detected by the police, identified the presence of North Wales surveillance vehicles and officers who had recently begun surveillance around Wood Cottage. That factory was then abruptly closed down.”
She said that after the North Wales site was closed, the gang continued to try to produce amphetamine closer to home. A Merseyside Police investigation later found they had tried to obtain a storage unit in an Aintree industrial site, known as The Boxworks, in order to store the large quantities of chemicals needed to make the drugs.
Messages sent over the Encrochat network showed the gang arranging for the transfer of large quantities of drugs, with cocaine, heroin, cannabis, ketamine and MCAT discussed in addition to amphetamine, which appeared to form the bulk of their trade. Ms Daley said the exact amounts of drugs were difficult to quantify but Encrochat messages show arrangements for the supply of a total of 71 litres of amphetamine oil and between 780kg and 1000kg of amphetamine sulphate paste.
She said: “It was a ‘full service’ business, operating not just within England and Wales but also involving the supply of large quantities of drugs to Scotland, including to customers in Dundee and Glasgow.”
Ms Daley opened the prosecution’s case this morning, while lawyers representing each of the defendants are set to make their arguments throughout this week. The offences for which each of the defendants is set to be sentenced are as follows:
- Anthony Saunderson, 42, of Formby - conspiracy to produce and supply Class A and Class B amphetamine, conspiracy to supply other Class A drugs, conspiracy to supply other Class B drugs and conspiracy to transfer a prohibited weapon
- Paul Mount, 38, of Halsall - conspiracy to produce and supply Class A and Class B amphetamine, conspiracy to supply other Class A drugs, conspiracy to supply other Class B drugs and conspiracy to purchase a prohibited weapon
- Darren Owens, 48, of Huyton - conspiracy to produce and supply Class A and Class B amphetamine and conspiracy to supply other Class B drugs
- Kieran Hartley, 32, of Knotty Ash - conspiracy to produce and supply Class A and Class B amphetamine and conspiracy to supply other Class B drugs
- Steffon Beeby, 42, of Halifax, West Yorkshire - conspiracy to produce and supply Class A and Class B amphetamine
- Lee Eccles, 33, of Maghull - conspiracy to produce and supply Class B amphetamine
- Stephen Shearwood, 38, of Maghull - conspiracy to produce Class B amphetamine, supply Class A and Class B amphetamine and to supply other Class A and Class B drugs
- David Kelly, 44, of Ormskirk - conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B amphetamine and conspiracy to supply other Class A and Class B drugs
- Michael Pope, 35, of Maghull - conspiracy to supply Class B amphetamine and conspiracy to supply other Class A and Class B drugs
Speaking this afternoon, Anthony Barraclough, defending Saunderson, said his client continued to maintain his innocence despite being found guilty of multiple offences by a jury earlier this year.
Counsel for the other defendants will make their arguments throughout this week before Judge Denis Watson QC passes sentence on Friday. A tenth defendant, Connor Smith, will be sentenced at a later date.
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