Eight members of a Lancashire-based organised crime group responsible for the large-scale supply of class A and B drugs across the country have been jailed.
Operation Acropolis, a long-running investigation led by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, dismantled the network headed by Jack Donegan, who directed the distribution of cocaine and ketamine through a trusted team of couriers and associates.
The group’s reach extended throughout the North West of England and beyond, supplying customers from as far afield as London, Derby, and Great Yarmouth.
A drug ledger recovered from Donegan’s phone revealed the supply of more than 800kg of class A drugs and profits exceeding £26m.
Donegan relied on a network of trusted couriers, including John Anderson, David Shelley, Nathan O’Hare, Kevin Pledger, Sean Windsor, and Ellis Nolan, who transported drugs nationwide.
At the same time, Philip Moores acted as the group’s ‘minder’, storing and distributing drugs on Donegan’s instruction.
A drug ledger recovered from Donegan’s phone revealed the supply of more than 800kg of class A drugs and profits exceeding £26m.
Donegan relied on a network of trusted couriers, including John Anderson, David Shelley, Nathan O’Hare, Kevin Pledger, Sean Windsor, and Ellis Nolan, who transported drugs nationwide.
At the same time, Philip Moores acted as the group’s ‘minder’, storing and distributing drugs on Donegan’s instruction.
Stephen Joel-Craven, identified as the group’s ‘money man’, was arrested with £5,000 in his vehicle, and a subsequent search of his home uncovered £300,000 in cash along with a counting machine.
The group’s reach extended further through customers and facilitators sich as Mark Lloyd, Robert Howarth, Alan Maddocks, Kevin Gaskell, Daniel Stawarczyk, and Keith Rowlands, all of whom were convicted of purchasing and distributing significant quantities of cocaine.
In one recovered message, Donegan boasted to his partner, Saskia Steward, about the group’s benefits, saying: “Yeah love, he’s sound as f**k, this is going to be great, I mean that.”
He also said: “It’s lovely to be fair, just going through all of this with him then hopefully chilling soon haha, looking average per month 15k.”
On May 30, 2024, Nathan O’Hare was arrested at Knutsford Services with 12kg of cocaine hidden in a blue box.
All the defendants pleaded guilty. Eight were sentenced today (December 5) at Preston Crown Court, with another eight to be sentenced in February.
- Jack Donegan, 29, of Briers Close, Warrington, was jailed for 15 years for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs
- Philip Moores, 56, of Fawcett, Skelmersdale, was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs
- Stephen Joel-Craven, 42, of Kingsbury Court, Skelmersdale, was jailed for eight years and eight months for participating in the activities of an organised crime group and possession of criminal property
- Kevin Gaskell, 43, of Castlehey, Skelmersdale, was jailed for 10 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs
- Keith Rowlands, 58, of Maes, Caernarfon, was jailed for nine years and six months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs
- Daniel Stawarczyk, 36, of Freshpool Way, Manchester, was jailed for six years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs
- Saskia Steward, 26, of Briers Close, Warrington, was given an 18-month sentence suspended for two years for participating in the activities of an organised crime group
- Robert Howarth, 45, of Tulip Avenue, Haydock, was jailed for eight years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs
Detective chief inspector Kelly Wild, from NWROCU’s operations team, said: “This was a meticulous and far-reaching investigation that has dismantled one of the most significant organised crime groups operating in the North West and beyond.
“The scale of this conspiracy was staggering – hundreds of kilograms of class A drugs were moved across the country, generating tens of millions of pounds in criminal profit, while causing misery in the communities where these drugs were sold.
“The sentences handed down today reflect the seriousness of these crimes and send a clear message – organised crime groups who profit from the misery of others will be relentlessly pursued, dismantled, and brought before the courts.
“Our teams worked tirelessly to uncover the full extent of this network, from the couriers on the road to the money men counting cash, and the leaders orchestrating supply.”
