A man has been jailed after officers raided property stocked with £200,000 worth of class A and B drugs

Today (Tuesday 25 May 2021) at Minshull Street Crown Court, Richard Southward (15/05/1979) of Hurst Grove, Ashton Under Lyne has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, one count of possession with intent supply Class B drugs, two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and one count of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs.

Steven Avery (25/12/1984) of Hurst Grove, Ashton Under Lyne has also pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and one count of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs. He is due for sentencing at a later day.

Following an investigation into the supply of class A, B and C drugs in the Hurst Cross area of Ashton-under-Lyne both Southward and Avery were identified as being concerned with the supply of drugs in the area.

On 12 November 2020 officers from GMP's Tameside Challenger Team executed a drugs warrant at three addresses in Ashton-under-Lyne and an address in Dukinfield that were either owned or rented by the two men.

Just over £200,000 worth of class A and B drugs were recovered from the property in Dukinfield which Southward's was using to store drugs.

In total, £76,000 worth of heroin; £63,000 of crack cocaine; £57,000 worth of cocaine and £25,000 worth of amphetamine were recovered.

Both men were arrested and subsequently charged with a range of drug offences.

Detective Constable, Jake Orr of GMP's Tameside Challenger Team said: "The sentence handed to Southward today is another significant result in helping to disrupt the trade and distribution of drugs in the Ashton area. I hope it also serves as a stark reminder that GMP is continually investigating the drugs chain across Greater Manchester and will pursue all those who seek to profit from this type of criminality.

"Drugs are destructive and cast a dark shadow across entire communities. Both Southward and Avery were deeply engrained into the supply chain and reaping the rewards so I'm pleased that we've been able to secure a significant conviction for Southward and remove him from our streets."