Drugs gang jailed after supplying blocks of cocaine from Liverpool to Preston

Who was involved?

Brothers Lee and Christopher Ormandy were the wholesale dealers in Liverpool, arranging for the drugs to be delivered.

Steven Smith was their trusted driver, taking the cocaine from Merseyside to Preston.

They had three sets of wholesale customers in Preston who were retail drug suppliers.

Saqub Hussain was one of the customers in Preston, with brothers George and James Heary a second set.

The third customer was Daniel Eastham.

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What did they do with the blocks of cocaine?

They all operated independently of one another but would break down the cocaine in Preston, dilute it, and sell it in smaller retail amounts.

How were they caught?

Lancashire Police tracked the offenders over a 10-month period in 2020 during Operation Highgate.

After establishing the pattern of what the offenders were doing, officers stopped Smith's Ford C-Max car at a petrol station in New Hall Lane on October 25, 2020

That day, police said there had been a "flurry of contact" between the Ormandy brothers and Eastham, and between the Ormandy’s and Smith.

When Smith's car was searched, a 0.5kg block of pressed cocaine was found in a bin liner packed into a cat food box under the front passenger seat.

Officers said the cocaine was valued at between £13,400 and £19,500, but worth up to £22,000 if bulked out to a typical purity at street level.

That block of cocaine was destined for Eastham's house and was a typical delivery in this network, police said.

After the cocaine was discovered in Smith's car, warrants were carried out at the homes of the other suspects and they were arrested.

When were they jailed?

Most of the gang were jailed in November 2023.

Eastham was the final offender to be sentenced at Preston Crown Court last Friday at the conclusion of another case he was involved in.

How long were they sentenced for?

The sentences were:

• Lee Ormandy, 51, of Ashbury Road, Huyton, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. 14 years.
• Christopher Ormandy, 41, of Ashbury Road, Huyton, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. 14 years.
• Saqub Hussain, 44, of St Paul’s Road, Preston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. Seven years and six months.
• Steven Smith, 39, of Saxby Street, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. Six years and nine months.
• Daniel Eastham, 33, of Fishwick Parade, Preston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. Six years.
• George Heary, 27, of Waterloo Road, Preston, denied conspiracy to supply cocaine and found guilty by a jury. Nine years and six months.
• James Heary, 33, of Norris Street, Preston, denied conspiracy to supply cocaine and found guilty by a jury. Eight years.
• An eighth man, Amin Patel, 48, of Holmrock Road, Preston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was given a two-year suspended sentence.

Det Sgt Richard Clancy of Preston Police, said: "This was an organised supply line of Class A drugs between Liverpool and Preston.

"Our operation to dismantle it was a complex and extensive one, and we welcome the lengthy sentences which have been passed on seven men.

"Drug dealing and drug taking is a scourge on society, bringing misery and other forms of criminality to communities."