Overview
- Manchester Crown Court jailed Gregory Bell, 43, for 18 years and nine months after he pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracies to supply cocaine, heroin, MDMA, ketamine, amphetamine and cannabis.
- Ian Ogden was sentenced to 16 years and eight months, and Paul Brown received 10 years following his arrest in Spain and extradition to the UK.
- Police said the wholesale operation ran from safe houses in Alderley Edge and Bury using couriers and vehicles with hidden compartments to store and move drugs.
- Investigators linked Bell to more than 30 properties, two villas in Spain and lavish spending, including paying private school fees in cash, with assets now targeted for confiscation.
- EncroChat data exposed Bell’s aliases, contacts and command role, enabling UK agencies to identify the network and dismantle it through coordinated arrests.