Drugs gang kingpin Locked up after cops mas organisation

GROUP SMUGGLED COCAINE AND HEROIN ACROSS PENNINES

- AMY WALKER

THE head of a drugs gang who ran cocaine and heroin across the Pennines during lockdown has been jailed - along with some of his cronies.

Jack Smedley, 24, and seven others have been dealt with by the courts following a mammoth, 18-month police investigation into the illicit business, which advertised £10 deals.

The cross-Pennine conspiracy was cracked by Greater Manchester Police together with officers from North Yorkshire Police and the Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit.

A sting was carried out in October 2020, with cops storming 10 properties in Manchester, Oldham, Tameside and York.

Smedley controlled a phone line called the 'Junior Line, which was registered to a fake name. He sent out mass texts advertising the sale of heroin and cocaine in £10 deals, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Others were employed to act as couriers and collectors.

Smedley, from Moston, employed a number of people. Some moved drugs to York, while others collecting the cash to be brought back to Manchester.