£250m drug bust warning to criminals, say police
An operation to smash a crime gang who brought £250m of heroin and cocaine into the UK will be felt across the country, says the head of a special police unit.
The four ringleaders caught by Operation Falcon are now behind bars after pleading guilty to serious drug offences.
It followed a raid in September 2023 at a remote farm in north Wales, where police found more than 600kg (1,300lb) of Class A drugs.
That was part of up to three tonnes of drugs smuggled to the site near Mold in Flintshire.
"Nobody is untouchable in that world," said Det Ch Supt Ian Whitehead, who leads the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
"For those higher echelon criminals that think they are untraceable, undetectable, we will seek to bring them to justice."
The crime unit, which is based at Merseyside Police headquarters in Liverpool, is now a team of about 600 staff trained in tackling serious organised crime.
Made up of officers and specialists from six forces, it covers north Wales, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria.
It is part of a network of nine units across the UK and works with other agencies such as the National Crime Agency and the UK Border forces.
It launched Operation Falcon in 2023 after tip-offs about organised crime gangs working across north-west England.
It revealed a drug smuggling operation being orchestrated from Dubai, with a network stretching to South America.
"It is an unusual case and it's quite rare to get seizures of that sort of quantity," said Det Ch Supt Whitehead.
"This group were monitored over a period of four to five months. Over that time they brought large quantities of drugs from mainland Europe into the UK - between two to three tonnes of drugs."
The crime unit's main target was the farm, which had become the packing and distribution site for the operation.
Disabled driver Guy Remington used a specially adapted mobility car pulling a trailer to carry the drugs across the English Channel, hidden in secret compartments built into the trailer.
The drugs were then transported to Tirglas Goch farm, which is hidden away and only accessible by a single dirt track.
But it was within a stone's throw of the A55 dual expressway that runs the length of north Wales, giving easy access to Liverpool, Manchester and the UK motorway network.
It was there the farm tenant Luke Hirst would offload the drugs, ready to be collected and moved around the UK.
"The farm premises was a remote premises in a relatively rural area. It was clearly thought by the group that would enable them to evade detection," said the police chief.
"It didn't work out. We tracked them to the farm premises, we conducted surveillance against them - saw the coming and goings - and we were able to collected sufficient evidence."
Sufficient evidence in fact, to catch the gang red-handed with the latest consignment.
"That resulted in a strike operation where we recovered over 600kg of heroin and cocaine. It's a huge amount of drugs," added the chief superintendent.
"We would estimate that over the four to five months those drugs were valued at in excess of £250m.
"They would have been due to be distributed right across the UK.
"Those seizures and those arrests would have been felt right across the UK."
The four arrested all pleaded guilty to drugs offences at Chester Crown Court in March.
Luke Hirst, 38, from Mold, was given a 12-year prison sentence for his role in the conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Liverpool drug dealer and a leading organised crime gang member Thomas Smith, 43, was jailed for 18 years. He made frequent visits to the north Wales farm to collect the drugs for distribution.
Morgan Towner, from Leatherhead, Surrey was given a seven-year sentence for his involvement for collecting and moving the drugs.
The driver, Guy Remington, 48, from Welsh Bicknor, Herefordshire, was jailed for seven years after admitting his role in importing the drugs.
"It's really important to recognise that people operating at this level, they still have a significant impact on our communities," said Det Ch Supt Whitehead.
"They fuel serious and organised crime linked to serious violence, increases in inquisitive crime, the exploitation of vulnerable people - including children.
"It's often those at the top of the scale that try to evade capture and are less known to the police.
"The job of the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit is to investigate those higher echelon criminals and ensure they are brought to justice."
