A Rochdale man was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for his role in an Organised Crime Group (OCG) involved in the large-scale supply of Class A and B drugs across Greater Manchester.
Kane Worthington aged 34 of Boarshaw Road played a significant role in the distribution of drugs over significant period of time, acting as the middleman between suppliers and customers in an operation where it is thought that the street value of the 4kg of cocaine and 16lbs of cannabis would have yielded a return of close to £500,000.
Content on the encrypted phone revealed messages from Worthington, who was using the alias ‘loftyrocket’, was messaging suppliers and customers across Manchester, arranging drop offs and pickups of cannabis and cocaine, prices and how much money he owed to one supplier.
The court heard how between 26 March 2020 and 23 May 2020, Worthington was in conversation with 25 different handles during that period.
Detective Inspector Richard Castley from our Serious Organised Crime Group said: “Worthington not only dealt drugs but showed utter contempt for public safety during a national pandemic, continuing his criminal enterprise while law-abiding abiding citizens made sacrifices to protect the NHS.
“This sentence sends a clear message to criminals who think they can operate outside of the law. Our teams will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt drug supply chains and bring offenders to justice.
“Though some work into drug investigations can’t always be seen – there is a lot going on behind the scenes. We will always listen to our communities’ concerns and any information or issues that are fed to us can sometimes hugely assist our on-going investigations.”
