Seven men jailed for supply of cocaine from Liverpool to Preston

Seven members of a drugs gang involved in the supply of cocaine between Liverpool and Preston, have been given prison sentences totalling more than 64 years.

An investigation by Lancashire Police tracked the offenders over a 10-month period in 2020 and uncovered an operation where blocks of cocaine – each valued at several thousand pounds – were regularly transported from Liverpool to Preston.

Brothers Lee and Christopher Ormandy were the wholesale dealers in Liverpool.

Steven Smith was their trusted driver who transported the cocaine, while there were 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.

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

Numerous trips from Merseyside to Preston were made by Smith and the Ormandy brothers.

In October 2020, officers stopped Smith’s car at a petrol station in New Hall Lane, Preston. A block of pressed cocaine valued between £13,400 and £19,500, but worth up to £22,000 if bulked out to street-level purity, was found under the front passenger seat.

Smith was on his way to deliver that block of cocaine to Eastham.

Most of the gang were jailed in November 2023, with Eastham the final offender to be sentenced at Preston Crown Court last Friday (22^nd March) at the conclusion of another case he was involved in.

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.”