Matthew Johns was locked up for eight years
Matthew Johns(Image: GMP)
A drug dealer was caught after sending packages of cannabis to the UK from America. Matthew Johns, 42, flew out to New York for a month-long trip.
While there, he packaged drugs and sent parcels across the Atlantic to various addresses. Police tracked Johns down after lifting fingerprints.
They then found over 14 kilograms of cocaine – worth up to £315,000 – at his Salford flat. On May 2 this year, staff at the Royal Mail office in Manchester called police after five suspicious parcels arrived.
They were collected and taken to Bury police station, where they were analysed. All were from the United States.
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The first contained plastic wraps and four stash proof bags containing different strains of cannabis as well as cannabis plant matter, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The second contained other strains as well as bubble wrap. The third package was forensically linked to Johns after fingerprints were lifted.
The fourth package contained the same strains – RS11 and WHM – while the fourth contained cannabis plant matter. In total, the packages weighed 4.5 kilos. Turther investigations led police to Johns’ door.
“On September 30 this year, his flat was searched,” Tanya Elahi, prosecuting, said. “He was not present at the time. Officers found 14.4 kilos of cocaine, the value of which was between £180,000 and £315,000, if sold in bulk rather than street deals.
Parcels intercepted(Image: GMP)
He answered ‘no comment’ when quizzed by police. Johns has previous convictions for possession with intent to supply cannabis from May last year, for which he was jailed for a year and two months.
Eleanor Brambell, defending, said Johns had recently split up with his partner and lost his job. “He accrued debt and it all went downhill from there,” she said.
“He was a custodian of the drugs. He accepts the drugs were in his possession, he intended to give them to someone else.”
Jailing Johns, of Lords Street in Salford, for eight years, Judge Hilary Manley said: “These offences are so serious that only a substantial period of custody can be justified. Clearly you were entrusted with it.”
Johns previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine; and the fraudulent evasion of the importation of a class B drug namely cannabis.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing was set for February 10 next year. Prosecutors will attempted to claw back cash.
Following the hearing, Detective Sergeant Emily Whitehead from Operation Challenger at Bury said: “This was a complex investigation involving highly organised criminality, where Johns made every effort to evade the police.
“Let this case serve as a reminder to those engaging in serious criminality across Greater Manchester – we take a robust stance in tackling offending of this kind and the devastation it causes to the communities in which we live.
“When you bring drugs into the country from abroad, you’re committing an importation offence which is more serious and has greater consequences than a standard drug offence, such as possession.
“Alongside the Home Office, Border Force and Royal Mail, officers from our Challenger team are committed to tackling the importation of cannabis through the postal system.
“Programme Challenger is Greater Manchester’s partnership response to tackling serious and organised crime. It brings together law enforcement agencies, local authorities, and community partners to address all forms of serious crime – including county lines activity, the exploitation of young people and vulnerable adults, modern slavery, immigration and economic crime, and the criminal use of firearms.”