Two women and man jailed after police storm homes on back of vital intelligence
20.06.2024 - 08:21
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Two mobile phones hidden in a front garden gave cops vital evidence to bring down gang members who flooded Wigan with crack and heroin. Officers probed the 'Jake' county line, which had been supplying the Greater Manchester town with Class A drugs from Liverpool.
Merseyside Police says that Michael Moore played a leading role in the operation as the 'controller'. He would send out text messages advertising the sale of drugs in Wigan.
Now he has been jailed, alongside two women from Wigan who played their own part in the conspiracy. Officers from both Merseyside and Greater Manchester Police worked together in the sting to bring the 'Jake' line down.
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They uncovered the gang's actions over a four-month period from November 2023 to March this year. Police say the operation took a 'significant quantity of drugs' off Wigan's streets.
Intelligence led to a number of warrants being executed by police - and while officers carried out their searches, they discovered the two phones hidden in a front garden which were key to securing a prosecution. Moore, Natalie Devlin and Lauren Jones were all charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, crack and heroin between November 2023 and March 2024.
All three appeared at Liverpool Crown Court, where they were sentenced on Tuesday (June 18). Moore, 34, of Finch Lane in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, was jailed for nine years for his leading role in the drugs supply chain.
Devlin, 39, of Anson Place, Wigan, was sentenced to five years in prison with an additional 12 months for breaching a suspended sentence order. Jones, 31, of Bramble Grove, Wigan, was jailed for four