Food bar used to launder money in £1m cocaine, ketamine and cannabis plot

A FOOD bar in Rhyl was used to launder money from a £1million plot to supply cocaine, ketamine and cannabis to north east Wales.

- By DAVID POWELL Daily Post Reporter

Drugs gang members sourced Class A and Class B drugs on Merseyside leading to high cash returns. Five Rolex watches were later discovered.

But police locked on to the conspirators and started a surveillance operation.

When the time was right they swooped on vehicles and homes until 11 members of the gang were captured.

Yesterday, a judge at Caernarfon Crown Court began a two-day sentencing hearing into the plot which lasted for about six months in 2024.

Anna Pope, prosecuting, said Jake Kiernan, 33, was “top of the chain” He led the buying and selling of drugs on a commercial scale. His crimes were likely to make a “substantial” sum.

She said Kiernan owned the Fuel Bar which was a smoothie and takeaway business in Rhyl. It ran legitimately but it was also used to launder proceeds from drug activity.

The 11 defendants were involved in selling different drugs - cocaine, keta-mine or cannabis, the court heard.

Ryan Potts played a key role, making multiple trips to Merseyside to hand over cash or pickup cannabis between January 26 and December 5 last year.

Finally police stopped his car on the M56 near Runcorn and found £32,000 cash in it. Homes were used to store items.

The properties belonged to Jamie Steele's sister Danielle Steele, and his mother and stepfather Melanie Kiernan and Nicholas Reynolds.

But it looked like Jake Kiernan was aware there was police surveillance because he told Reynolds “you talk too much. You're going to get us nicked”

The court heard Melanie Kiernan’s home in Clos David Owen in Rhuddlan was being used to store drugs.

On November 16 last year she went to buy disposable gloves from Hal-fords but was tipped off she didn’t need them as some had been found.