{"id":199915,"date":"2025-06-20T13:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/199915\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T13:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:03:12","slug":"chelsee-healey-watches-on-in-court-as-her-boyfriend-is-jailed-over-serious-criminal-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/199915\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsee Healey watches on in court as her boyfriend is jailed over ‘serious’ criminal operation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edward Rainford and Jay Boyd discussed varieties of the Class B drug nicknamed Oreo Cookie, Orange Cream and Wedding CakeEdward Rainford(Image: Zenpix)<\/p>\n

TV star Chelsee Healey watched on in court as her boyfriend was jailed for his role in a ’boutique cannabis operation’.<\/p>\n

Edward Rainford, 32, and co-defendant Jay Boyd, 28, were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court<\/a> after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis between November 2022 and September 2023.<\/p>\n

Healey, 36, who has starred in Waterloo Road, Hollyoaks and Dancing on Ice, entered into a relationship with Rainford four years ago. The pair have a child together.<\/p>\n

The court heard how Rainford and Boyd’s illicit activities came to light during a Greater Manchester Police<\/a> operation tackling Class B drug supply.<\/p>\n

Prosecution barrister Gwen Henshaw described how, on July 7 2023, Boyd and Rainford were observed in a Costa Coffee branch in Monton.<\/p>\n

They were overheard by a police constable discussing ‘taking 33 per cent’; ‘the next sum’; ‘a 4.5’; ‘it’s a risk’; and ‘doing it off their own back’.<\/p>\n

A warrant was executed at an address on Grasmere Road, Swinton<\/a>. Boyd\u2019s fingerprints were found at the house alongside a small quantity of cannabis, a \u2018list of debtors\u2019 and small bags ‘the kind used for 3.5 deals of cannabis’.<\/p>\n

The court also heard Boyd was observed driving past the house during the search, and that his telephone number was disconnected from the network shortly after.<\/p>\n

On September 4 that year, Boyd was seen driving in Monton, accompanied by Rainford. They were stopped by police and arrested on suspicion of separate offences.<\/p>\n

Chelsee Healey leaving court on Thursday(Image: M.E.N.)<\/p>\n

The pair were taken to Wigan<\/a> police station while their cars were searched and mobile phones recovered. A search of Boyd\u2019s home on Cheetham Road revealed a quantity of cash, a vacuum sealer and a small quantity of cannabis worth between \u00a3145 and \u00a3205.<\/p>\n

But it was the telecoms data, Ms Henshaw told the court, which revealed that Boyd and Rainford were not simply engaged in personal use of the substance but rather ‘playing roles’ in ‘their own boutique operation’.<\/p>\n

The phone evidence included photos of bundles of cash, with metadata from one photo matching the address of Rainford\u2019s family home.<\/p>\n

There were chat logs of the pair discussing money and different flavours including Oreo Cookie, Orange Cream and Wedding Cake.<\/p>\n

The pair sent contacts to each other, and sent videos back and forth showing ‘different strains of cannabis’ with ‘close-ups of the product’ showing its ‘quality and structure’.<\/p>\n

On August 13 Rainford sent Boyd a voicenote saying: “I think I\u2019ve got a quick one for us if you\u2019re interested.” Another conversation showed one requesting a video of the \u2018Gorilla Glue\u2019 strain to \u2018forward on\u2019.<\/p>\n

Jay Boyd outside Manchester Crown Court(Image: Steve Allen)<\/p>\n

The court also heard that on one occasion there was a conversation where in which Rainford appeared to refer to a debt he owed. The sum of these findings was, the prosecution said , evidence of the pair \u201cworking together in order to sell cannabis\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey make contact with customers arranging supply of different strains,\u201d Ms Henshaw told the court. \u201cMessages suggest that they are keeping some strains in stock.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that they are arranging meeting places shows they are aware of the seriousness of what they are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Henshaw said the pair had a \u2018leading role\u2019 in ‘organised buying and selling of cannabis on a commercial scale’, with ‘substantial links in a chain’.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not a massive enterprise, but there were numbers of other people involved,\u201d she added. \u201cThere are people buying from the defendants and selling on for distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitigating for Rainford, Mark Friend said the offending had ‘financial advantage in mind’ but told the court it ‘lacked many of the hallmarks of sophisticated, professional drug dealing’.<\/p>\n

“There were no encrypted telephones \u2013 the messages and exchanges were not difficult to access,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Messages referring to Rainford\u2019s debts show him as a cog in an over-all supply chain. There were clearly people far above him, doing far more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not seeking to undermine the seriousness of the offending \u2013 his decision making was flawed in the extreme and he must be punished. But the reference to organised crime is rather a grand title. I submit that he played a significant role only.\u201d<\/p>\n

The court heard Rainford had served for nine years in the Army. \u201cHe gave good service to this country,\u201d Mr Friend added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that defence was used on a previous occasion,\u201d replied His Honour Judge Peter Horgan. \u201cThere is only so much you can draw from the same well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chelsee Healey leaving court following an earlier hearing in the case(Image: Steve Allen)<\/p>\n

Rainford has four previous convictions for criminal damage; assault; and violence. He received a prison sentence for the latter in July 2019 and was released from prison in 2022, at which point he was ‘anxious to build himself a life’, the court heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is not scared of hard work and earning a living,\u201d said Mr Friend. \u201cThere is a good prospect of him moving into paid employment after release. He has entered a relationship that is still ongoing, in which he has a child and step-daughter.<\/p>\n

“He is supported by family and friends today who I think would say that there is another side to him as a responsible, decent man who can live a life away from offending.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rainford was still on licence when he was arrested in 2023. He also initially pleaded not guilty to the drugs charge in December 2024, before admitting his crimes in early January.<\/p>\n

Representing Boyd, Tanya Elahi agreed the offending \u2018lacked sophistication\u2019. \u201cThey did not use a business as a cover or abuse a position of responsibility,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

She said Boyd was now a trained air conditioning engineer who had been self-employed since November 2024, as he had been released on unconditional bail following his arrest and guilty plea.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe accepts the severity of the offending and is remorseful for his actions,\u201d she told the court. \u201cHe himself calls them a stupid mistake and is glad to have turned his cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was unemployed then and struggling financially. He is living at his mother’s home and signed up for universal credit. He has not been in trouble since this offence. This was one lapse in judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lapse in judgement does not occur over a period of many months,\u201d Judge Horgan interrupted. \u201cThat is the difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge said that he \u2018entirely agreed\u2019 that Rainford and Boyd\u2019s activities amounted to \u2018a boutique operation\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a serious operation, in which you had a contact above and below you,\u201d he told the pair. \u201cThis ensured that you were able to buy and sell significant amounts of cannabis to make money, which is what this was all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

“You were working together, buying and selling large quantities and arranging a supply of a variety, suggesting you kept strains in stock. The images recovered suggest a lucrative operation. But I accept that this was not sophisticated organised crime.”<\/p>\n

Addressing Rainford, the judge said he had an \u2018impressive\u2019 military career before his prison sentence. \u201cYou were released in July 2022 and, for reasons which are beyond me, you then became involved in this,” he added.<\/p>\n

“You let your family down and left your partner to raise two young children.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou plan to move in with her and continue with the business that you set up with your father. I recognise your difficulties with your mental health and those that you have as a result of your service to this country.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had a management role in this operation. You did involve others and you did expect to make financial gain, and were aware of the scale. This was not a lapse in judgement – the scale of time is important to me. It took place over many months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rainford, of no fixed address, was sentenced to two years.<\/p>\n

Addressing Boyd, Judge Horgan said: \u201cYou were unemployed at the time of the offence and involved yourself in criminality actively, for the first time in your life, purely for financial gain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have about this but find the only appropriate method of punishment can be immediate custody. I don’t believe I would be acting in accordance with my public duty otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd, of Cheetham Road, Swinton, was sentenced to a total of a year and six months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edward Rainford and Jay Boyd discussed varieties of the Class B drug nicknamed Oreo Cookie, Orange Cream and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[80169,30,188,77,13393,1290,6805,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-199915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-chelsee-healey","9":"tag-courts","10":"tag-crime","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-manchester-crown-court","13":"tag-salford","14":"tag-swinton","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114715833646368546","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}