Three men have been sentenced after our officers dismantled a highly sophisticated drug supply network that operated across the United Kingdom, using postal services to deliver thousands of parcels containing Class A and B drugs.
Iain Potter 45 of Sefton Drive, Liverpool has been sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs.
Jack Wright 30 of Westgate Lane, Wakefield has been jailed for 11 years and four months for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs.
Ross Fathi 46 of Wingfield Drive, Wilmslow will spend six years behind bars for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs.
Over a three-month period between January and April 2025, Iain Potter, Jack Wright, and Ross Fathi ran an industrial-scale operation from a warehouse in Edenfield, Bury. The warehouse was set up as a professional distribution hub, complete with packaging stations, vacuum sealing machines, label printers, and Royal Mail bags ready for dispatch.
Officers discovered lists of names and addresses alongside parcels already prepared for delivery.
Royal Mail records revealed the gang had sent 1,724 parcels between February and April 2025, each weighing between 0.1kg and 10kg. Every parcel carried a fake return address designed to keep their criminal enterprise under wraps should any of the parcels be intercepted by the police.
When police raided the unit in Bury, they uncovered a staggering amount of controlled substances. These included: cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, cannabis resin, THC edibles, and many, many more.
Following the discovery and forensic analysis, it was confirmed that empty packaging for at least 19kgs of cocaine were recovered, with a potential street value of up to £1.9 million, alongside other drugs which were seized being valued at between £109,755 and £337,432.
Police also recovered more than £13,000 in cash, encrypted mobile devices, and equipment used to process and conceal drugs.
On Thursday 24 April 2025, Potter and Wright were arrested in Ramsbottom after being stopped with a suitcase containing 5kgs of cannabis skunk.
Searches at their homes uncovered further drugs and packaging linked to wholesale supply, including MDMA, ketamine, LSD, and cocaine. Fathi was arrested at the Edenfield unit and later connected to the conspiracy through encrypted messaging apps, which revealed his role as a courier and packer for the operation.
Messages showed him taking instructions from Potter under the alias “A Sam Poland A” and updating him on stock levels of Class A drugs.
The total estimated value of the drugs involved in this conspiracy, including seized substances and packaging linked to wholesale quantities, is believed to be in excess of £2.2 million.
