A drug dealing trio who were found with thousands of pounds worth of heroin in a car were jailed yesterday at Manchester Crown Court.
Desmond James Noonan, 27, of Old Clough Lane, Worsley, Graham Anthony Beaumont, 29, of Summerset Avenue, Tyldesley, Wigan and Christopher Perry, 29,of no fixed address, all admitted possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.
Noonan was jailed for five years, Perry was sentenced to three years and eight months and was given a further 14 months to run consecutively for unrelated drugs offences and Beaumont was jailed for two years.
The gang were caught in a grey Seat Ibiza on Old Clough Lane at around 7.30pm with heroin valued at £24,700, Two of them were arrested while one was detained by a dog patrol after attempting to flee.
A black carrier bag containing a plastic bag containing brown powder was recovered from underneath the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Downey, from Salford, said: “All three were found in possession of a significant quantity of drugs.
“These drugs were undoubtedly heading for the streets of Salford so to recover such a large amount is a great result.
“Heroin in particular is an extremely abhorrent drug that goes hand in hand with other crime, ranging from anti-social behaviour on streets where it is dealt, thefts and robberies committed by addicts to get another ‘score’ and fear, violence and intimidation by those involved across the supply chain.
“We are working with communities and partners such as Salford City Council as part of Project Gulf to dispel this myth and prove that no one is untouchable in Salford and that we will do everything we can to identify and bring to justice organised crime groups and/or families involved in criminality.
“We have made great strides in reducing crime across Salford in recent years and today’s success is indicative of the excellent results that have come about from Project Gulf – our partner agency approach to tackling organised crime.”
Officers will use the Proceeds of Crime Act legislation to strip them of any assets and cash they have accumulated from drug dealing.
Image courtesy of The Laird of Oldham via Flickr, with thanks.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.