Final member of drugs gang who stashed over £3 million worth of pills in a storage lock up is jailed

The final member of a drugs gang who stored more than £3 million worth of etizolam pills in a storage lock up has been jailed.

The gang produced the anti-anxiety pills, which are not licenced for use in the UK, 'on an industrial scale'. Police also found £22,860 in cash stuffed inside an Asda bag at Armadillo Storage, on Portrack Lane in Middlesbrough.

The drugs operation had first been uncovered by chance, after police spotted a Renault Clio driving erratically in Stockton on March 17 2021. An officer chased the car and after the driver and passengers fled, found a kidnapped man and meat cleaver inside, Teesside Live reports.

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Mohammed Rafiq, 46, of Kings Road in Manchester, was part of a drugs gang that was caught after the men fled the Clio, leaving it in an alleyway. PC Dave Richardson was about to unleash his police dog to chase the men, when he heard, "a cry for help" coming from the car.

Inside, a man on the back seat who said he had been kidnapped by four men from outside a shop. He had minor injuries and a meat cleaver had been left next to him. A 9mm Glock pistol was later found - it had been thrown over a wall from the alleyway, court heard.

CCTV and taxi records led police to gang member Michael Cornwell's address in Sunderland, where a drugs factory was operating. A cement user was being used in the kitchen to mix the etizolam ingredients. Analysis of phone records showed Cornwell had made repeated calls to Armadillo Storage in Middlesbrough. This led police to the £22,000.

A key found in Cornwell's bedroom belonged to "You hold the key" storage unit, on the A66 in