Three men have been jailed after police smashed a 'highly sophisticated' mail order drugs gang.
Iain Potter, Jack Wright, and Ross Fathi ran the 'industrial-scale' operation from a distribution hub in Edenfield, Bury, using the Royal Mail to deliver thousands of parcels of drugs to their customers.
The warehouse was kitted out with packaging stations, vacuum sealing machines, label printers, and hundreds of Royal Mail bags ready for dispatch.
When police raided the unit they discovered a staggering array of illegal substances including cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, cannabis resin, THC edibles and more.
Royal Mail records revealed the gang had sent 1,724 parcels between February and April 2025, each weighing between 0.1kg and 10kg. Every parcel carried a fake return address in an attempt to disguise their tracks should they be intercepted by the police.
Police estimate the gang delivered at least 19kg of cocaine, among drugs worth a total of £2.2m. Encrypted mobile phones and £13,000 in cash were also seized.
Potter and Wright were arrested in Ramsbottom in April 2025 after being stopped with a suitcase containing 5kgs of skunk.
Searches at their homes found further drugs and packaging, including MDMA, ketamine, LSD, and cocaine. The gang's courier and packer Fathi - who used the alias 'A Sam Poland A' - was arrested at the Edenfield unit and later linked to the conspiracy through encrypted messaging apps.
Potter, 45, of Sefton Drive, Liverpool; and Wright, 30, of Westgate Lane, Wakefield were both jailed for 11 years and four months for conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs.
Fathi, 46, of Wingfield Drive, Wilmslow was sentenced to six years in prison for the same charges.
Det Con Liam Smith from GMP's Serious Crime Division said: "This was an organised criminal enterprise on an industrial scale, they would act as a legitimate outfit, flooding drugs via parcels throughout the country. Potter, Wright and Fathi would use encrypted devices, fake addresses, and sophisticated packaging methods to try and evade detection.
"The quantity of drugs involved, and the planning shows they weren’t small time dealers, they ran a criminal outfit who were looking to maximise profits on a daily basis.
"[This week's] sentencing sends a clear message: if you choose to engage in drug supply, we will find you, dismantle your network, and bring you to justice."