JAILED: Drug smuggling gang member who was arrested in St Helens

Jason Starmer, 42, who was arrested in June last year, had pleaded guilty part way through a trial to conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and also admitted to possession of a firearm.

He was sentenced to 21 years in prison at Preston Crown Court.

The gang were involved in a "sophisticated international distribution network" which would see vast amounts of the class A drugs make its way from Belgium to the UK, via the Netherlands.

The drugs would be concealed in agricultural equipment and within the trailers carrying them in Tongeren before being driven to Rotterdam in the back of HGVs and setting sail to Hull Port.

From there it would travel to a location in Derbyshire operated by David Reece and Frank Eaton.

Reece and Eaton, who had both previously served prison time in Belgium for drugs importation charges, would then be in charge of organising its onward distribution to regional crime bosses.

The North West group was headed up by Julian Solomon, who was responsible for the arrangement, collection and onward delivery of that regions cocaine and heroin supply.

His associates Graham Rawling, Gerard Young and James Newhall would then assist Solomon in his efforts to distribute the drugs to local crime bosses.

Meanwhile, Starmer was a Burton-on-Trent based offender who had key contacts in the Midlands which he would utilise to make arrangements for the collection and onward distribution of the drugs for that region.

One of these key contacts was Eaton who was Julian Solomon’s equivalent in the West Midlands, heading up the crime group for the region and responsible for the drugs operation in that area.

Some drugs which were seized by officers Pic: GMP

Starmer provided a link between the two crime bosses and he would often make trips to the North West around Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

Everton Bailey was the man responsible for the distribution of the imported product in the East Midlands once they had been prepared for regional dispatch.

However, unbeknown to the group, Greater Manchester Police's Serious Organised Crime Group was conducting a covert operation into their activities and on Wednesday, May 17 2017, a Scania HGV was stopped at the King George Docks in Hull by UK Border Force officials.

A subsequent search of the vehicle saw officers seize approximately 58kg of cocaine and almost 84kg of heroin - a combined street value of approximately £66,502,000.

Telephone records show that when the drugs didn’t show up at their intended location, Solomon, Starmer and Bailey frantically attempted to contact Eaton.

Suspecting that their international associates had ripped them off and kept the drugs for themselves, Eaton, Solomon and Starmer flew to Belgium the following day for an emergency meeting.

Starmer, Newhall and Rawlings meeting Pic: GMP

Upon his return to the UK, Solomon was arrested and remanded into custody at HMP Forest Bank where he was visited on May 26, 2017 by Jason Starmer and Graham Rawling.

The following day Starmer was observed by police having a panicked meeting with Rawling and James Newhall at a pub car park near Ormskirk, where they exchanged phones and papers.

He was soon afterwards arrested on the East Lancashire Road in St Helens and found to have thousands of pounds in cash and a kilogram of cocaine in his car.

A search of his home address resulted in a firearm and ammunition being recovered, along with large quantities of cash.

Eaton, who did not return to the UK following the crisis meeting, was arrested in Belgium by local authorities and extradited into GMP custody whilst the trial for his seven co-conspirators was on-going.

Jason Starmer was arrested in St Helens

The sentencings were as follows:

• Frank Eaton, 47, of Bag Lane, Ashbourne pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 17 years in prison at Burnley Crown Court today (April 20).

Sentenced at Preston Crown Court in March were:

• Julian Solomon, 37, of Grove Lane, Hale was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
• Jason Starmer, 42, of HMP Liverpool pleaded guilty part way through his trial to conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm prior to being sentenced.
• David Reece, 55, of Ludlam Ave, Nottinghamshire was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
• Everton Bailey, 57, of Mandarin Way, Derbyshire was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
• Graham Rawling, 58, of Sussex Road, Southport pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was found guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin following a trial. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• Gerrard Young, 48, of Heathwood Road, Manchester was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
• James Newhall, 42, of Delph Common Road, Ormskirk pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison.

After the sentencings, Detective Inspector Tony Norman, of GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group said: “These men operated one of the largest international drug importation networks that GMP has ever investigated with the seizure of over £66million worth of drugs at Hull port - a key moment in our operation.

“Their offending didn’t just have a local impact on Greater Manchester; it reached across the UK and will no doubt have had a ripple effect in mainland Europe where their money was lining the pockets of crime bosses.

“We know how much misery local dealers can inflict on people’s lives however men like Eaton, Reece, Solomon and Starmer are the ones who are responsible for supplying those local dealers, enabling them to blight our communities and flood our streets with drugs.

“Our work to tackle local criminality is very important and alongside that we will continue to target those who operate at the very top so that we can shatter these organised crime networks and strangle the supply at a local level."

He added: “This truly was an international team effort and I would like to thank the UK Borders Agency, the National Crime Agency and the Belgian authorities for the key support they have given us in achieving this outcome.

“I want the result today to send a clear message. It doesn’t matter how high up you are in a criminal outfit, if you are involved in the drugs supply trade in Greater Manchester, our incredibly dedicated team will ensure that you face prosecution are brought to justice.”