Man caught 'acting suspiciously' at garden centre brings down crime gang who had plagued North West

A major drug operation spanning Liverpool and Crewe was undone after a high-ranking gang member was found with cocaine at a garden centre.

Jake Floyd was the deputy in the lucrative conspiracy and helped organise the movement and supply of large amounts of Class A drugs. The 30-year-old, formerly of Derrington Avenue, Crewe, was also responsible for the storage of drugs and criminal proceeds.

Floyd was stopped and searched at Bridgemere Garden Centre, Nantwich, after someone saw him acting suspiciously on June 3 last year. In the middle of the search, Floyd attempted to flee from police and threw away a bag containing heroin and crack cocaine, as well as more than £5,000 in cash - he was later arrested and released under investigation, the Liverpool Echo reports.

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His home was later raided with more than £5,000 in cash being seized alongside 126g of drugs, worth up to £17,000. He was once again arrested and then charged with drug supply offences.

Floyd was part of a gang believed to have brought between £459,300 and £742,340 worth of cocaine, heroin, and crack cocaine into Crewe and surrounding areas from Liverpool over approximately 13 months, between October 27 2021 and November 10 2022.

A total of 11 defendants pleaded guilty to being involved in the OCG. Six were sentenced at Chester Crown Court between Thursday 10 August and Thursday 17 August for conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin.

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This included:

Between November 12 2021 and February 2 2022, officers identified Hart as a regular courier, travelling to Liverpool to collect class A drugs