Three men have been jailed for more than 40 years for dealing drugs worth up to £52m, after police discovered notebooks that implicated them.
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.
Greater Manchester Police says the address was part of an ongoing drugs supply operation running at a commercial level.
Ringleader Candland of Derby Road, Salford, was jailed for 19 years and nine months; Groves of Swinton Hall Road, Swinton, for 15 years and nine months; and Lee 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 officers 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.
Detectives recovered several handwritten notebooks appearing to show detailed drugs transactions dating back to 2009 and implicated Candland, Groves and Lee.
Officers recovered cocaine with a street value of £173,000 alongside cash totalling £33,080, as well as a holdall containing drug paraphernalia.
Groves’ fingerprints were found on a carrier bag inside the holdall, which also contained a number of packages of cocaine.
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.
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.”
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