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Fugitive 'Tommy' gang boss Nicholas Knowles extradited to UK, handed extra jail term

The 32-year-old managed the operation via a concealed phone in custody before fleeing the UK on sentencing day to trigger an international manhunt

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Overview

  • Knowles was extradited from the Caribbean on June 2, 2025, to begin serving a 13½-year sentence plus an additional 34 weeks for his escape
  • He masterminded the ‘Tommy’ drugs line from 2013, overseeing weekly flows of up to 1,000 texts and calls for heroin and cocaine across Greater Manchester
  • Greater Manchester Police dismantled the gang in May 2015 and other members received prison terms in December 2016 and January 2017
  • In mid-2014 Knowles concealed a mobile phone in a police cell to continue directing the criminal enterprise until his transfer to prison
  • After faking illness to flee his 2018 sentencing hearing, he was captured in the Caribbean on October 9, 2024, following an Interpol-assisted manhunt