Two members of a prolific drugs ring which operated across the South West and Shropshire and imported drugs from Portugal have been jailed for a total of more than 12 years following a lengthy British Transport Police investigation.
Jordan McCourt-Knight, aged 30, of Roman Close, Leintwardine, Herefordshire, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply a class A drug (cocaine and MDMA) and five counts of conspiracy to supply a class B drugs (4 x ketamine and 1 x cannabis) and was jailed for six years and three months.
Harley Hall, aged 28, of Hope Bagot Lane, Knowbury, Shropshire, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply a class A drug (cocaine and MDMA), three counts of conspiracy to supply a class B drug (2 x ketamine and 1 x cannabis) and one count of possession with intent to supply cannabis. He was jailed for five years and 10 months.
A third man, Cassius Davies-Thompson, aged 28, of Walcot Street, Bath, was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for 18 months after pleading guilty to possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.
All three were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday 8 November.
The court heard how the investigation began back in (specific date?) November 2019 when bungling criminal McCourt – Knight left a bag containing a hefty amount of ketamine on a train at Newport station.
Despite running back to try to claim it the train had already left the station and the bag was found by staff who uncovered the illicit contents and reported it to police.
This sparked a police hunt for the owner, whose apprehension was aided by the fact that McCourt – Knight himself had actually reported the bag missing to staff at Newport station.
McCourt was arrested and found to be carrying a small quantity of class A and class C drugs, £1,910 in cash, drug paraphernalia and a number of mobile phones.
The total amount of ketamine had a street value of somewhere between £19,940 and £39,880.
One of the phones seized from McCourt-Knight was found to be an ‘Encro device’ which cost thousands to purchase and use. The court heard how McCourt-Knight and other members of the organised crime group had used the ‘Encro-Chat’ app to discuss the sourcing, supply and receipt of drugs from Portugal.
McCourt-Knight’s costly mistake led to the unravelling of the entire drugs line with Harley Hall being identified through messages on the phone as another big player in the drugs enterprise.
Texts revealed Hall and McCourt-Knight had secured what he promised to be a higher grade of cocaine which he was selling onto other members of the group to pass onto street dealers.
But the deal went wrong and the pair fell out when ‘customers’ complained that the cocaine was not up to standard due to the amount of cutting agent used to bulk it out.
Following the retrieval of the text messages Hall was arrested and a search of his home resulted in thousands of pounds in cash and over 1kg of cannabis being seized.
Investigating officer DS Dan Murdoch said: “Our officers worked tirelessly to bring about these convictions. McCourt-Knight and Hall were in direct communication with International drug suppliers, sourcing numerous class A, B and C drugs which were then supplied throughout various parts of the UK.
“McCourt-Knight boasted about his use of his Encro-Device which was used along with his mobile phone to source and distribute the drugs.
“But his boastfulness was short lived, as, through one careless mistake, McCourt – Knight single handedly helped bring down the drugs ring, unwittingly aiding detectives in unravelling the entire enterprise.
“These individuals cause significant harm to our communities through the supply of and profit from illicit drugs, often exploiting vulnerable persons in the process, and it is testament to the work of the team that they are now behind bars.”
