Cops smash drug empire of kingpin

BOBBY VERNON

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A MULTI-MILLION pound drug empire run by an Oldham man has been dismantled following a covert surveillance operation.

Police uncovered a drugs haul worth millions of pounds inside a secret cellar after finding a concealed door hidden by a large fridge freezer during a raid.

Yesterday, six men, including the network's Oldham kingpin, were sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court for their part in a sophisticated plot to flood the streets of Greater Manchester with Class A drugs.

On December 21, 2015, police executed a warrant at Darron Rae's home in Moston and seized almost £20,000 in cash, a small wrap of cocaine and a cash counting machine.

Officers quickly realised Rae was working for Bobby Vernon from Oldham and had links to others working as part of an organised crime group .

Crime boss Vernon met Rae regularly at various safe houses utilised by the group.

One of these houses on Church Lane, Harpurhey, was raided by police in April, 2016 and they found a concealed door hidden by a large fridge freezer.

That door gave access to a small staircase which led to a secret cellar where officers uncovered over 13 kilograms of heroin and cocaine with an estimated street value of more than £4.2 million.

The following month Rae was seen leaving his home address to drive a few hundred yards to a side street where he met Paul Cragg and exchanged a bag.

Cragg was pulled over by police on his way back to Liverpool and a search found the bag contained almost £90,000 in cash.

Days later, Bobby Vernon was seen meeting with Marcus Bradley at Brookdale Park in Newton Heath. Bradley would visit another safe house in Fallowfield a number of times before he was pulled over by police in Burnage on June 23, 2016, and found to be in possession of two kilos of Class A drugs and three mobile phones.

Uncovered

A follow-up search of the address in Fallowfield unearthed a further eight kilos of Class A drugs, bringing the total street value of the drugs seized that day to more than £2.8 million.

On July 21, 2016, Vernon was seen meeting William Skillen in Dobcross. Skillen was pulled over in Manchester some time later and a search of his car uncovered thousands of pounds in cash.

Once Skillen had been arrested, Vernon was detained at an address in Failsworth before a subsequent raid on a property in Radcliffe found documents detailing drug and money transactions made by the group totalling £1.4 million.

A further raid at Vernon's uncle Stephen's flat in Collyhurst discovered an industrial vacuuming machine used for packaging drugs and parts for a 10-tonne press used for pressing drugs.

Bobby Vernon (32) of Montgomery Street, Oldham, was jailed for 10 years for the conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply heroin.

Darron Rae (44) of St Marys Road, Moston was sentenced to eight years and eight months for conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply heroin.

Paul Cragg (50) of Ermine Crescent, Liverpool, was sentenced to seven years and seven months after being convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and money laundering.

Marcus Bradley (30) of Kingsway Crescent, Burnage, was sentenced to six years and eight months for conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply heroin.

William Skillen (31) of Seafield Road, Blackpool, was sentenced to five years and eight months for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

Stephen Vernon (48) of Hamerton Road, Manchester, was given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 300 hours community service after being convicted of allowing premises to be used for Class A drug preparation.

Detective Sergeant Damian Gething of GMP's Serious and Organised Crime Group said: "Bobby Vernon headed up a Class A drug dealing empire with a sophisticated network of thugs he employed.

"All of these men played a key role in keeping Vernon's criminal enterprise going and thought that they could operate outside of the law until Op Volcano blew the lid off their operation."