Man detained at Manchester Airport after stepping off plane from Tenerife

A man prosecutors believe played a "leading role" in a major drugs operation was arrested at Manchester Airport. Liam Freaney was detained after his flight back to the UK from Tenerife landed in Manchester, a court has heard.

The 36-year-old has already admitted trafficking Class A drugs. In court, he was described as the "head of a drugs supply business" who sought to arm himself with a gun and a silencer.

Freaney had appeared in court for sentencing this afternoon (July 31) via video link from HMP Altcourse, the Liverpool Echo reports. But proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court have been set back over factual disputes between the prosecution and the defence.

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Wirral man Freaney was detained at Manchester Airport as part of an EncroChat probe which saw a haul of boxing memorabilia, including shorts signed by Frank Bruno and a belt bearing Tyson Fury's signature, seized by police. Secret messages unearthed when the encrypted communications platform was infiltrated by law enforcement agencies revealed that he had been trading in multi-kilo quantities of illicit class A and B substances and plotted to get his hands on a firearm "with bullets and a silencer".

Freaney, of Hoylake Road in Bidston, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis, as well as conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon - namely a Grand Power pistol. Stella Hayden, prosecuting, today described him as the "head of a drug supply business".

She added: "We say he was buying commercial quantities for his own operation, therefore playing a leading role. We have always maintained this defendant was more than a broker."

However,