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The mysterious markings on £100m worth of drugs - including the Jewish Star of David - revealed as gang are jailed for total of 217 years for racket masterminded behind bars
Richard Brookhouse, 45, ran a smuggling operation from HMP Kirkham in Lancashire where he is already serving 22 years for drug offences
He was helped by Carl Wall, 37, serving four years for making threats to kill
Brookhouse has been sentenced to 20 years in jail to be served after his current sentence, and Wall has been given another 21 years behind bars
Fifteen other gang members, including Richard's wife, Diane, were sentenced to a total of 217 years at Warrington Crown Court
Another five are awaiting sentence at Liverpool Crown Court next month
Eighteen members of a £100m drugs trafficking empire, which was masterminded by gangsters already in prison, have been jailed for a total of 217 years.
Richard Brookhouse, 45, who sent to prison for 22 years in 2003 for drug smuggling, organised the operation from inside HMP Kirkham, Lancashire, with 37-year-old former Liverpool boxing champion Carl Wall.
Brookhouse has been sentenced to another 20 years in jail for his part in the operation, while ‘big-time crook’ Wall was given 21 years to add to the four he is already serving for making threats to kill after part of his cannabis stash was stolen in 2009.
Richard Brookhouse, 45 (left), and Carl Wall, 37 (right), ran the operation while behind bars. Brookhouse has been given 22 years to run consecutive to the 20-year sentence he received for drug smuggling in 2003. Wall was given 21 years on top of the four years he was already serving for making threats to kill in 2009
In total police seized around £100million worth of Class A drugs from the gang during their investigations.
Speaking to Brookhouse during his sentencing, Judge Woodward said: 'I have no idea how your children are going to come to terms with what you have done. After 10 years in prison you were unreformed.'
Brookhouse and Wall ran the drugs empire with Liverpool crime lord Paul Hannon, who helped them to distribute the drugs to major dealers across the North West.
Brookhouse’s wife, Diane, 42, was jailed for 14 years for assisting the drug lords and using the profits of her husband’s crime to live a ‘lavish lifestyle’.
Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, head of the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit that exposed the drugs gang, described ringleader Brookhouse as a ‘lifestyle drug dealer’.
DS Hudson said: 'There are some organised criminals like Richard Brookhouse who get to the end of their sentence and try to continue to make a living from crime.
'Some of them make serious amount of money. The thought of them getting a legitimate job on minimum wage is completely unacceptable to them.
Diane Brookhouse, 42, the wife of Richard, drove her husband to meetings with co-conspirators and used his cash to live a 'lavish lifestyle'
Brothers Omar, 32 (left), and Ali Amin, 30 (right), were found to have acted as dealers, buying large quantities of drugs. The pair pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 20 years and 17 and a half years respectively
Father and son duo Paul (left) and Stephen Harwood (right) were given 12 and eight years respectively after being caught with 78kg of cocaine and 2kg of heroin on April 6 last year
The packs of heroin and cocaine seized from the gang were covered with mysterious markings including the Jewish Star of David, the letter V and four x's in a row
'There will always be those who will use prison to further their criminality. He didn’t have the opportunity to live a lavish lifestyle because he was in prison, but he was trying to set himself up for the future.
'One of things you get from a having a 22 year drug importation conviction in the criminal world is a bit of respect.
'Clearly, Richard Brookhouse used that his advantage and that’s why he was so respected by these gang members.
Andrew Wilde, 53 (left), sentenced to 15 years, was the gang's transport manager and organised trips to France to pick up drugs. Karl Glennon, 47 (right), sentenced to 12 years, was one of his drivers
Gerard Mooney, 31 (left), was given 15 years for his part as a 'wholesaler' along with Darren Williams, 39 (right), who was given nine years behind bars
Ultimately, that respect has led to their downfall.'
The drugs ring was exposed in April 2013 when police seized around £15m worth of drugs, which included 78 kilos of cocaine and two kilos of heroin.
It was revealed the gang lords were booked onto a coach trip to a fishing spot in France, where drugs would be stashed from a German contact and smuggled back to the UK.
Paul and Stephen Harwood, father and son, were stopped on April 6 last year while driving this van back from France, saying they had been on a family fishing trip
The pair were actually carrying 78kg of cocaine (pictured). Paul, the father, took part in seven drug runs before he was arrested along with son Stephen, who only acted as a driver on the last journey
Along with packs of cocaine (pictured) officers found the duo carrying a further 2kg of heroin
Warrington Crown Court heard there were seven trips in total, with around 60 kilos of drugs being shipped at a time.
Brookhouse’s co-conspirator Andrew Wilde, 53, was jailed for 15 years, while Paul Harwood, 61, and Karl Glennon, 47, were both sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
Stephen Crane, a transporter, was jailed for 17 years, while Paul’s son, Stephen Harwood, 36, was given an eight-year jail sentence.
During operation Redbank officers seized a total of £100million worth of drugs - pictured is 8kg of heroin
Wholesale dealer Gerrard Mooney, 31, will spend 15 years in jail and Darren Williams, 39, who was involved in the final trip, was sentenced to nine years behind bars.
Omar Amin, 32, sold drugs to a number of dealers in Manchester and was jailed for 20 years with his brother Ali Amin, 30, receiving a 17-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Anthony Preston, 36, who ran own drug business with cocaine bought from Rahman and Ali, received an 11-year sentence while drug operator Christopher Morris, 30, was jailed for eight years.
The drugs were deposited in France by a German contact of the gang, and were then smuggled into the UK by drivers who would claim they had been on a fishing trip
In total, over a 12-moth period, police say the gang imported more than half a tonne of cocaine
Preston’s father, Francis Porter, 55, was jailed for four years and Morris’s 22-year-old son Christopher Coogan will spend four-and-a-half years behind bars.
Nabeel Issawi, 24, of no fixed abode, received an eight year jail sentence while a 17-year-old dealer, who cannot be named, was jailed for 18 months.
The remaining five gang members, Paul Hannon, Christopher Brown, Stephen Chadwick, Mohammed Ali and Sadaqat Ali, will be sentenced in Liverpool on March 7.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...terminded-gangsters-prison.html#ixzz2smOHqn9a
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Richard Brookhouse, 45, ran a smuggling operation from HMP Kirkham in Lancashire where he is already serving 22 years for drug offences
He was helped by Carl Wall, 37, serving four years for making threats to kill
Brookhouse has been sentenced to 20 years in jail to be served after his current sentence, and Wall has been given another 21 years behind bars
Fifteen other gang members, including Richard's wife, Diane, were sentenced to a total of 217 years at Warrington Crown Court
Another five are awaiting sentence at Liverpool Crown Court next month
Eighteen members of a £100m drugs trafficking empire, which was masterminded by gangsters already in prison, have been jailed for a total of 217 years.
Richard Brookhouse, 45, who sent to prison for 22 years in 2003 for drug smuggling, organised the operation from inside HMP Kirkham, Lancashire, with 37-year-old former Liverpool boxing champion Carl Wall.
Brookhouse has been sentenced to another 20 years in jail for his part in the operation, while ‘big-time crook’ Wall was given 21 years to add to the four he is already serving for making threats to kill after part of his cannabis stash was stolen in 2009.
Richard Brookhouse, 45 (left), and Carl Wall, 37 (right), ran the operation while behind bars. Brookhouse has been given 22 years to run consecutive to the 20-year sentence he received for drug smuggling in 2003. Wall was given 21 years on top of the four years he was already serving for making threats to kill in 2009
In total police seized around £100million worth of Class A drugs from the gang during their investigations.
Speaking to Brookhouse during his sentencing, Judge Woodward said: 'I have no idea how your children are going to come to terms with what you have done. After 10 years in prison you were unreformed.'
Brookhouse and Wall ran the drugs empire with Liverpool crime lord Paul Hannon, who helped them to distribute the drugs to major dealers across the North West.
Brookhouse’s wife, Diane, 42, was jailed for 14 years for assisting the drug lords and using the profits of her husband’s crime to live a ‘lavish lifestyle’.
Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, head of the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit that exposed the drugs gang, described ringleader Brookhouse as a ‘lifestyle drug dealer’.
DS Hudson said: 'There are some organised criminals like Richard Brookhouse who get to the end of their sentence and try to continue to make a living from crime.
'Some of them make serious amount of money. The thought of them getting a legitimate job on minimum wage is completely unacceptable to them.
Diane Brookhouse, 42, the wife of Richard, drove her husband to meetings with co-conspirators and used his cash to live a 'lavish lifestyle'
'There will always be those who will use prison to further their criminality. He didn’t have the opportunity to live a lavish lifestyle because he was in prison, but he was trying to set himself up for the future.
'One of things you get from a having a 22 year drug importation conviction in the criminal world is a bit of respect.
'Clearly, Richard Brookhouse used that his advantage and that’s why he was so respected by these gang members.
Ultimately, that respect has led to their downfall.'
The drugs ring was exposed in April 2013 when police seized around £15m worth of drugs, which included 78 kilos of cocaine and two kilos of heroin.
It was revealed the gang lords were booked onto a coach trip to a fishing spot in France, where drugs would be stashed from a German contact and smuggled back to the UK.
Warrington Crown Court heard there were seven trips in total, with around 60 kilos of drugs being shipped at a time.
Brookhouse’s co-conspirator Andrew Wilde, 53, was jailed for 15 years, while Paul Harwood, 61, and Karl Glennon, 47, were both sentenced to 12 years behind bars.
Stephen Crane, a transporter, was jailed for 17 years, while Paul’s son, Stephen Harwood, 36, was given an eight-year jail sentence.
Wholesale dealer Gerrard Mooney, 31, will spend 15 years in jail and Darren Williams, 39, who was involved in the final trip, was sentenced to nine years behind bars.
Omar Amin, 32, sold drugs to a number of dealers in Manchester and was jailed for 20 years with his brother Ali Amin, 30, receiving a 17-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Anthony Preston, 36, who ran own drug business with cocaine bought from Rahman and Ali, received an 11-year sentence while drug operator Christopher Morris, 30, was jailed for eight years.
Preston’s father, Francis Porter, 55, was jailed for four years and Morris’s 22-year-old son Christopher Coogan will spend four-and-a-half years behind bars.
Nabeel Issawi, 24, of no fixed abode, received an eight year jail sentence while a 17-year-old dealer, who cannot be named, was jailed for 18 months.
The remaining five gang members, Paul Hannon, Christopher Brown, Stephen Chadwick, Mohammed Ali and Sadaqat Ali, will be sentenced in Liverpool on March 7.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...terminded-gangsters-prison.html#ixzz2smOHqn9a
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