Drugs gang leader jailed over £2m Manchester cocaine ring
The leader of a drugs gang that ran a cocaine supply ring worth more than £2m has been jailed for nine years.
Marcus Anderson, of Brooklawn Drive, Prestwich, admitted orchestrating the group that trafficked cocaine across the north of England and the Midlands.
The group used encrypted phones, safe houses and couriers to move drugs, Greater Manchester Police said.
Anderson, 32, was jailed for nine years at Manchester Crown Court for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Fellow conspirator Andre Knott, 33, of Houghton Road, Manchester, was also jailed for seven years for the same charge.
Seven other members of the gang were sentenced at earlier hearings to jail terms of between three and 18 years for their roles in the criminal network.
Police seized 15kg of cocaine with a street value of almost £2.5m during the investigation, which ran from March 2016 until October 2017.
Officers monitoring the group noticed drugs were being shipped in the same bags to people in car parks and lay-bys who would drive significant distances in order to make exchanges before returning to Manchester.
Det Supt Jon Chadwick said the convictions "send out the message that crossing force boundaries does not reduce the chances of being arrested".