Behind the scenes were ringleader Payden Candland and associates Leo Groves and Ricky Lee
(From left) Ricky Lee, Payden Candland and Leo Groves(Image: GMP)
A huge drugs empire was brought crashing down following a major six-year investigation by detectives. A trio of crooks have been banged up for over 40 years for their roles in the conspiracy.
The investigation was launched when officers searched an address in Salford in March 2019, with further raids carried out on a house in Worsley and a commercial premises in Poynton, Cheshire. It revealed the property was being used at the time as part of a commercial drug supply operation.
Behind the scenes were ringleader Payden Candland and associates Leo Groves and Ricky Lee, who were buying a kilo of cocaine every week or fortnight and, over a decade, are believed to have purchased and sold on between 260kg to 520kg of cocaine.
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Officers uncovered a large amount of cocaine with a street value of £173,000 and wads of cash totalling £33,080. They also seized a black holdall from the living room that contained two jackets, a coat, disposable gloves, three plastic containers, a box of rubber bands, an assortment of plastic bags, digital scales, a court heard.
Leo Groves’ fingerprints were found on a carrier bag inside the holdall, which also contained a number of packages of cocaine. His DNA was found on the inside surface of two pieces of latex glove and his fingerprints recovered from a £20 note in a bundle found in the jacket, police said.
Greater Manchester Police detectives found the plastic tubs contained a number of separate plastic packages containing a large amount of cocaine weighing a total of 1.7kg.
Bolton Crown Court(Image: MEN Media)
Detectives also recovered several handwritten notebooks from that same bedroom appearing to show detailed drugs transactions dating back to 2009 and implicated Candland, Groves and Lee.
Candland was out when officers went to his house in Worsley where a search revealed several mobile phones and £1,953 in cash. On the same morning, Candland and Groves were arrested during a third strike at a newsagent in Poynton. They were both taken into custody on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.
Following the arrest of Groves, a further search was conducted at his home address in Weaste, where a quantity of drugs, snap bags and a mobile phone were recovered, as well as a small quantity of bagged cocaine hidden under the bed, court heard.
A review of a seized mobile phone found messages to and from a number of people including ‘Pay’ later found to be Candland, ‘Chodey’ found to be Groves and ‘Pumba’ later found to be Lee. A video on the phone showed a man with a tattoo holding a knife – the tattoo was later confirmed to belong to Lee.
A drugs expert concluded that their conspiracy appears to have been dealing with sums between £26m and £52m depending how it was divided up and sold on.
Payden Candland, Leo Groves and Ricky Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs at Bolton Crown Court after a six-year investigation.
On Thursday (June 26), Candland, 33, of Derby Road, Salford, was jailed for 19 years and nine months. Groves, 33, of Swinton Hall Road, Swinton, for 15 years and nine months; and Lee, 33, of Eccles Road, Swinton, for seven years to be added to the 14 years he was serving for previous offences.
Detective Inspector Sarah Langley of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “This was without doubt a long-running and large-scale drugs supply operation which was running from a small terraced house in Salford.
“The three men ran a sophisticated business model which was professional and commercial, they were boldly selling drugs across our region and exploiting vulnerable people. But now, we have stopped this, and put them behind bars, far away from causing any more harm to members of the public.
“Following criminal proceedings, we will now go after their finances, to ensure they cannot enjoy a luxurious lifestyle from their criminal profits.”
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