Organised drugs gang led huge operation in Lincolnshire town, court hears

Huge quantities of heroin and cocaine were brought into Grantham by an organised crime gang for sale on the streets of the town, Lincoln Crown Court was told on Tuesday, January 19.

The gang, headed up by car dealer Jonathan Ferry, also brought in significant amounts of both M Cat and amphetamine and were set to make vast profits from their illegal activities.

During a nine-month period in 2014 hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of drugs were couriered in from Manchester and Nottinghamshire as a result of links made between the Grantham gang and other organised crime groups.

Twelve men and one woman are facing sentencing for their involvement in the supply of drugs.

Matthew Lowe, prosecuting, said: “This case arises from the organised supply of class A and class B drugs that took place in the East Midlands.

“There was an established organised crime group based in Grantham. They purchased drugs in substantial quantities, in particular cocaine and heroin, from organised crime groups based in Manchester and Nottinghamshire.

“The Grantham group was headed up by Jonathan Ferry. He was an established class A drug dealer. He was the head of the criminal operation in Grantham sufficiently well established in his trade so that he was able to obtain the supply of heroin and cocaine in significant quantities.

“By January of 2014 the Grantham crime group was fully operating. When members of the group were arrested Ferry was able to recruit replacements with little interruption to his operation.”

Lowe said that Ferry kept himself at “arms distance” from much of the drug dealing.

When police raided Ferry’s home in Larch Close, Grantham in October 2014 they recovered significant quantities of jewellery and watches together with £4,000 cash. Ferry’s £24,000 Range Rover was parked outside the property.

Lowe said that Adam Higgs was Ferry’s “right hand man” with over 1,000 mobile phone contacts between the two men.

Others involved played important roles including collecting, storing, preparing and distributing the drugs.

Lowe said that couriers from Manchester had supplied cocaine on at least 13 occasions to the Grantham group with evidence showing that in the region of 1.5kgs of the drug with a potential street sale value of £90,000 was brought in each time.

On one occasion Ryan Anderson, a drugs courier from Manchester, was found with £26,000 cash after being stopped by police on his way back over the Pennines after making a delivery.

Lowe added that the heroin supplies were brought in from North Nottinghamshire area with up to 2.5 kgs with a street sale value of £137,000 being supplied at a time.

He told the court that it was estimated that at least 10 deliveries of heroin were made to Grantham.

The drugs supply operation was finally closed down in October 2014 after police carried out a number of arrests.

Investigating officers had gathered evidence from undercover surveillance and a series of earlier raids.

Nine men and one woman have admitted charges of conspiracy to supply drugs between January 1 and October 23, 2014.

They are:

• Jonathan Paul Ferry, 46, of Larch Close, Grantham
• Paul Hull, 47, of Grantley Street, Grantham
• Adam Higgs, 24, of Shaw Road, Grantham
• Ashley Toulson, 27, of Edward Street, Grantham
• Stuart Frazier, 54, of Princess Drive, Grantham
• Tyrone Sly, 46, of Bye Path Road, Retford
• Ryan Anderson, 31, of Walmer Street, Gorton, Manchester
• Martin Cooper, 31, formerly of Grantham
• Francesca Moynihan, 23, of Hawthorn Drive, Salford
• Luke Smith, 30, of Goulden Street, Salford

Three other men denied charges of conspiracy to supply drugs between the same dates but were convicted by a jury following a trial.

They are James Straw, 50, of Petersmith Drive, New Ollerton, Newark; Jamie Darby, 39, of Princess Drive, Grantham; and Adam Gill, 29, of South Parade, Grantham.

The hearing continues.