Drugs factory trio jailed for 20 years

Mar 18 2008 by Chloe Griffiths, Liverpool Daily Post

THREE men have been jailed for a total of 20 years for running a drug factory.

When officers raided Raymond Griffiths’s home they found plastic bags full of cocaine, heroin and amphetamine stuffed into a fridge and a safe.

A simultaneous raid on Christian Ellison’s nearby home in the New Ferry area of Birkenhead reveal-ed drug paraphernalia, including a cocaine press.

Liverpool Crown Court heard analysis of the stash led officers to Andrew Jones – the brother of Ellison’s girlfriend – whose fingerprints were found on gloves and a bag of drugs.

Teresa Loftus, prosecu-ting, said the three men were responsible for cutting and storing huge amounts of drugs.

She said officers found 12 bags of cocaine inside the safe, worth up to £148,000 alone, while the whole stash could have sold for more than £280,000 on the streets.

Some of the heroin was up to 55% pure.

A search of the properties on January 26 also revealed barrels full of caffeine and benzocaine, which are commonly used as cutting agents.

Yesterday the trio were jailed for a total of 20 years after they admitted conspiracy to supply drugs.

Sentencing them, Judge John Phipps said: “It is clear to me you were all important players.

“The amount and value show to me, even if you were not at the top of the hierarchy, you were each trusted and important participants in a conspiracy to supply a large amount of drugs.”

But the court was told the trio were not sophisticated and were being manipulated by more experienced criminals.