Two men jailed for over 20 years after prison drugs plot intercepted by police and Border Force

While in prison, Nico Logan orchestrated the importation of almost £1 million worth of cocaine from the Netherlands to the UK. This week, he has been further sentenced along with his co-conspirator, Michael Garside, who handled the work on the outside.

Nico Logan has been sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to import and supply cocaine. This will run consecutively to the 16 year sentence he is currently serving. Michael Garside has been sentenced to nine years and seven months for conspiracy to import and supply cocaine.

In December 2021 Nico Logan was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for firearms and drug offences after police uncovered his illicit activity following the infiltration of the once encrypted messaging service, Encrochat. Using the alias ‘fruitykecks’ Logan orchestrated the delivery of drugs and firearms.

Behind bars, he continued with his illicit dealings.

On Wednesday 7 June 2023, at Birmingham Airport, a UK Border Force Officer was on duty at the depot and selected a parcel for examination. The parcel was sent from an address in the Netherlands and was destined for an address in Wythenshawe.

The parcel was opened, and inside, the Border Force officer found twelve brown, taped packages containing a white substance, later confirmed to be cocaine. The quantity and purity of the cocaine had an estimated street value of £1.2 million.

Detectives in our Serious Organised Crime Group launched a covert investigation, and on Thursday 15 June 2023, Michael Garside was observed by surveillance officers collecting a parcel at an address in Wythenshawe. After taking in the delivery, he made a call to Logan in prison, which police believe was an attempt to update him that the delivery of cocaine had taken place. Phone analysis showed that this mirrored his activity in May 2023 when another parcel was delivered, again, he wanted to inform Logan that the delivery had been successful.

Garside was also seen placing a cardboard box into his car, before driving to Cedars Road. Later that night, at 9:30pm, police attended a property on Cedars Road, Wythenshawe. Garside was located and arrested after police found the cardboard box containing cocaine in the address.

Garside was released under investigation, and police began to examine data from his mobile phone. From here, detectives identified that he was working under the direction of someone in prison, later determined to be Nico Logan.

On 26 March 2024, Logan was arrested and produced from prison to be interviewed by detectives.

Extensive phone work was carried out by specialist detectives which showed a pattern of calls and evidenced that Logan and Garside were communicating, while Logan was in prison. Experts assessed that the most common cell mast that the phone was connecting to was next to the prison, and the phone was primarily used in the mornings and evenings, which coincided when Logan would be able to make a call from prison.

While in prison, Logan also asked for a number to be added to his contact list, for a friend called Michael. This number was linked to Cedars Road, Wythenshawe, where Garside frequented and was arrested.

Further phone work also showed that on 17 May 2023, Garside received a series of messages and was given a window of when to expect a delivery. Garside updated the sender that the delivery had landed the next day. Enquiries with the postal company have confirmed that there was a delivery to the address in Wythenshawe Garside was associated with on 18 May 2023, with the sender details identical to those used for the delivery in June which was seized by Border Force.

As soon as the parcel had been delivered, phone analysis showed Garside tried to call Logan.

Detectives pieced together the evidence and determined that Garside had been working under the direction of Logan whilst he was in prison. Garside pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to import cocaine at a hearing in May this year. Nico Logan pleaded not guilty, but he was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to supply cocaine following a four-day trial at Manchester Crown Square Crown Court. 

The impact of organised crime in prison not only impacts the prison estate but overlaps into the wider communities who fall victim to the drugs trade and associated violence.

Over the last 12 months GMP have continued to work closely with colleagues from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and HM Prison and Probation Service to combat and target those involved in serious organised crime from prison.

In April this year (2024) we successfully launched a dedicated initiative codenamed Operation Gatehouse which is a partnership response to tackle serious organised crime across the four Greater Manchester prisons.

The operation involves resources from all agencies working together to target the key threats in each of the prisons including the illicit smuggling of contraband and illegal items, the use of drones to transport commodity, and associated violence.

Detective Constable Marc Walby from our Serious Organised Crime Group said: ”Nico Logan did not use his time in prison to rehabilitate, rather he continued to build on his illicit enterprise, seeking to make vast profits from the trade of a highly destructive commodity.

“We know that organised criminal networks will seek to exploit infrastructure like the postal or fast parcel system to bring their illegal commodities into the UK undetected, but we are working closely and collaboratively with a variety of partners and colleagues to stop them.”