Three men have been jailed for more than 40 years for their part in a 10-year drug supply operation worth up to £52m.
Payden Candland, Leo Groves and Ricky Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs at Bolton Crown Court after a six-year investigation by officers in GMP’s Economic Crime Unit.
Ringleader Candland 33, of Derby Road, Salford, was jailed for 19 years and nine months today Groves also 33 of Swinton Hall Road, Swinton, for 15 years and nine months; and Lee 32 , of Eccles Road, Swinton, for seven years to be added to the 14 years he was serving for previous offences.
The investigation was launched when police searched an address in Salford in March 2019, with simultaneous warrants carried out on a house in Worsley and a commercial premises in Poynton, Cheshire.
It was clear that the address was part of an ongoing drugs supply operation running at a commercial level.
Officers located and recovered a large amount of cocaine with a street value of £173,000 alongside cash totalling £33,080.
They also recovered a black holdall from the living room that contained two jackets, a coat, disposable gloves, three plastic containers, a box of rubber bands, an assortment of plastic bags, digital scales.
Groves’ fingerprints were found on a carrier bag inside the holdall, which also contained a number of packages of cocaine.
His DNA was found on the inside surface of two pieces of latex glove and his fingerprints recovered from a £20 note in a bundle found in the jacket.
The plastic tubs contained a number of separate plastic packages containing a large amount of cocaine weighing a total of 1.7kg – consistent with a well-organised and commercial drugs operation.
Detectives also recovered several handwritten notebooks from that same bedroom appearing to show detailed drugs transactions dating back to 2009 and implicated, Candland, Groves and Lee.
Candland was out when officers went to his house in Worsley where a search revealed several mobile phones and £1,953 in cash.
On the same morning, Candland and Groves were present during the third strike at a newsagent in Poynton and both were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.
Following the arrest of Groves, a further search was conducted at his home address in Weaste, where a quantity of drugs, snap bags and a mobile phone were recovered, as well as a small quantity of bagged cocaine hidden under the bed.
A review of a seized mobile phone found messages to and from a number of people including ‘Pay’ later found to be Candland, ‘Chodey’ found to be Groves and ‘Pumba’ later found to be Lee.
A video on the phone showed a man with a tattoo holding a knife – the tattoo was later confirmed to belong to Lee.
A drugs expert was brought in to examine the debtors’ list that showcased the professional nature of this enterprise.
He concluded that the group may have been purchasing up to 1kg of cocaine every week or fortnight – over a 10-year period it is believed that they have purchased and sold on between 260kg to 520kg of cocaine.
Overall, it has been calculated that this conspiracy appears to have been dealing with sums between £26m and £52m depending how it was divided up and sold on.
Detective Inspector Sarah Langley of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “This was without doubt a long-running and large-scale drugs supply operation which was running from a small terraced house in Salford.
“The three men ran a sophisticated business model which was professional and commercial, they were boldly selling drugs across our region and exploiting vulnerable people.
“But now, we have stopped this, and put them behind bars, far away from causing any more harm to members of the public.
“Following criminal proceedings, we will now go after their finances, to ensure they cannot enjoy a luxurious lifestyle from their criminal profits.”I’m
