How a sawn-off shotgun fired in Manchester brought down a major drugs and weapons gang

A dealer ran a major drugs and weapons supply line between Greater Manchester and Nottingham from Salford, alongside a gang kingpin who fled to Dubai after he was shot in Marbella.

Jodie Danson 'ran the operation in Salford' with Craig Moran, who was smuggled out of the country in the back of a lorry, heading up the empire in the Midlands, police said. Danson, 43, from Salford, has now been brought to justice and faces jail, with two other men from Salford and a man from Manchester also convicted.

A police investigation, Operation Encyclic, began almost seven years ago in October 2017 - with the discovery of a sawn-off shotgun. A forensic examination found it had been used in Manchester and contained the DNA of Moran's cousin, also now convicted, said police.

Where or when, or under what circumstances, the gun was fired in Manchester hasn't been revealed by police.

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Moran - who police said claimed to be a fitness instructor, but in reality led a 'stereotypical gangster lifestyle' - went on the run after a consignment of four kilos of cocaine and two kilos of heroin was intercepted on its way from Manchester to Nottingham in 2018. He's been described as a 'key player' in bringing guns and drugs into Nottingham.

Now 43, he fled to Dover then through France and Spain. But in Marbella, police said his 'criminal lifestyle caught up with him' when he was shot through the hands and kneecaps, and received a serious wound to his face. It's thought the drug suppliers expected to be reimbursed.

Moran subsequently fled to Dubai. Police said his drugs empire 'was crumbling around him' as