Four men ordered to pay back their ill-gotten gains or spend more time in prison

Kyle Darbyshire (20/05/1987) of Blantyre Avenue, Walkden, was sentenced to 12 years in jail in June 2022 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and the production and cultivation of cannabis. 

Mark Burgess (17/05/1978), of Ellenbrook Road, Worsley, Mark Cox (13/02/1985), of Runnymeade, Swinton, and Geoffrey White (05/01/1978), of Thorpe Avenue, Swinton, were all given suspended sentences as part of the same conspiracy. 

Darbyshire has been ordered to pay £1,234,609.67 or face a further 4 years in prison at a hearing on Friday 28 June 2024, Cox was ordered to pay £13,000 and White was ordered to pay £28,721 at a confiscation hearing on 29 February 2024.

The amounts claimed is the benefit they have received from other criminal activities during the six year drug operation before they were arrested in connection with a cannabis farm in Bolton.

During the investigation by our Challenger team, the gang was found to be using encrypted devices to organise the purchasing of drugs and also were involved in producing cannabis at farms in Swinton and Bolton.

Kyle Darbyshire

Detective Inspector Rebecca McGuigan, of GMP’s Salford district, said: “This was a complex investigation that saw a significant drugs supply chain taken off the streets of Salford, undoubtedly making our local community safer. But for us, we want to go further than a conviction to ensure that any money gained as a result of their criminal activities is given back.

“It is another important tool in achieving justice to ensure that they cannot continue to live lavishly with their ill-gotten gains.

“Now, a significant amount of money made from illegal activity will need to be repaid, and this money will be recovered by our force and given back to the communities across Greater Manchester who really need it.

“Drugs can have a devastating impact on communities so I would urge anyone who has any information about the supply of drugs to get in touch with police as open conversations with local residents is so helpful in bringing people who blight communities to justice.

"We would like to thank the public for their continued support in assisting our work by reporting and sharing information and anyone with information can contact police via LiveChat on our website, www.gmp.police.uk, call 101 or 999 in an emergency, or call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111."