Drug gangs, violent thugs and a fugitive amongst those locked up in Greater Manchester this week
A drugs gang who operated out of a disused nightclub are amongst those who are behind bars this week.
The group ran a cannabis empire out of at least eight farms in residential and commercial properties, as well as a storage facility housing both equipment and harvested cannabis plants. They are now facing lengthy terms in prison.
Also locked up this week was a thug who attacked a homeless man, a lad who 'rammed' into a police officer with his car and a fugitive who fled to the Caribbean on the day he was being sentences.
READ MORE: Teenage boy 'ran to house for help' with serious injuries before tragic death
READ MORE: Murder investigation after teenage boy dies following incident in north Manchester
Prison terms are handed out to the worst offenders each week, and Manchester Evening News reporters are on hand to cover the most serious cases.
Here is a roundup of the court cases we have covered in our region:
A drugs kingpin used an old nightclub as part of huge underground 'farm' network to rake in millions with his crook associates across the Midlands and north west.
Roman Le, 37, ran a the cannabis empire of at least eight farms in residential and commercial properties, as well as a storage facility housing both equipment and harvested cannabis plants.
He had sourced the properties by falsely posing as property developer, buying or renting them. In some cases scaffolding was put up around the buildings, making it look like building work was taking place, to disguise the real use, a court heard.
Working with co-defendants Yihao Feng, 29, from Manchester, and David Qayumi, 36, from Birmingham, to source and operate the properties.
Among the properties they used was a disused nightclub in Coventry, a former pub in Birmingham, and an old hotel in Lancashire, the National Crime Agency said. Overall the farms were capable of making millions of pounds worth of cannabis.
Read the full story here: A disused nightclub and a hidden underground empire
A homeless man suffered a 'grave' knife wound after his attacker had been 'spreading rumours' that his girlfriend had been unfaithful.
Luke Matthews, 27, has been jailed after causing a deep knife wound to Steven James' right arm during a scuffle on Peter Street in Manchester city centre, near to Albert Schloss. Door staff from the city centre venue gave him first aid as he lay injured.
James' girlfriend, who was present at the scene, was 'upset' that Matthews 'had been spreading rumours that he had been sleeping with her', Minshull Street Crown Court was told. James approached him 'aggressively' and produced the knife, which Matthews later picked up and proved to be the weapon which would inflict the serious injury.
Read the full story here: Man left victim badly injured in city centre fight after spreading rumours he'd been sleeping with his girlfriend
A thug 'used his car as a weapon' to deliberately ram into a police officer in a horror collision in a Sainsbury's car park in Cheadle.
Police had been responding to reports of men taking class C drugs in the supermarket car park on Wilmslow Rad at around 11.45pm on January 25 of this year and asked that 19-year-old Harvey Bell remain in his Audi and turn off his engine.
Instead, he reversed the car and, as a female officer approached the front windscreen, he then drove towards her, knocking her to the ground and drove over her legs with both sets of wheels before speeding away from the scene.
The victim briefly lost consciousness and suffered a deep cut requiring hospital treatment alongside bruising, cuts and scratches to her leg and arm.
Bell, of Bennet Drive in Knutsford, was traced and arrested by police the following day, January 26. He initially answered no comment in his interview but later pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and possession of cannabis.
The 19-year-old appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court on Wednesday (June 4) where he was sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute. He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
Read the full story here: He 'used his car as a weapon' and rammed into a police officer in a Sainsbury's car park
A drug dealer at the helm of an £180,000 'Scouse Paul' county lines operation was found in possession of Greater Manchester's first untraceable 'ghost gun'.
Police found a 'significant amount' of crack cocaine and heroin valued at around £28,500 when they raided Veke Koissia Soumahoro's Bolton home in November 2024.
In a GMP first, detectives also uncovered a Polymer80 'ghost gun' that had been assembled from a kit containing parts with no serial numbers.
A 'ghost gun' is a viable weapon that is untraceable as it has no identifiers and can be made from a kit or from separate parts, or even a 3D printer.
At a hearing at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday (June 3), Soumahoro pleaded guilty to a slew of drugs and firearms offences and was sentenced to seven years and six months behind bars.
Read the full story here: 'Scouse Paul', the untraceable ghost, and a £180k criminal empire
A thug left an unarmed man with a 'fearsome gash' from his ear to his lip in an unprovoked attack.
Ethan Waters gibed his victim about his past boxing training, telling him 'you think you're hard', while drinking at someone's house.
The 21-year-old left the flat, returning with a lock knife, before 'pulling' the victim off the sofa and violently slashing him across the face, telling him 'I'm going to kill you'.
At a sentencing hearing on Monday (June 2), Manchester Crown Court heard the man was permanently scarred in the attack and, worried about frightening them, didn't see his children for a year.
Read the full story here: 'You think you're hard? I'm going to kill you'
A fugitive who fled to the Caribbean on the day he was to be sentenced for running the notorious 'Tommy' drugs line is behind bars after being extradited back to the UK.
Nicholas Knowles, 32, from Ashton-under-Lyne, was the boss of the crime gang which ran the drugs line from 2013, supplying cocaine and heroin across Bury and beyond. At its height, the line was receiving a thousand texts and calls each week.
Knowles, of Bowness Road, denied conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, but he was founding guilty following a four-week trial at Bolton Crown Court in 2018.
While on bail, he faked illness to avoid going to court for his sentencing hearing and then fled the country. He was handed a 13-and-a-half-year prison sentence in his absence.
But today (June 2, 2025) Greater Manchester Police confirmed that, following an international manhunt, Knowles was captured in the Caribbean and extradited back the UK to face justice. He is now behind bars after being handed a further 34 weeks behind bars for his escape.
Read the full story here: He ran the lucrative 'Tommy' drugs line even from a police cell - then fled to the Caribbean
Four dealers who ran a 'very profitable' drugs ring on Telegram were branded 'silly little boys playing at being gangsters' as they were jailed for their crimes.
Omar Abu Sharkh, Mohammed Aftab, Sufiaan Ali, all 20, and Qais Rasul, 19, sold vapes containing THC and synthetic cannabinoids, class B drugs.
Police said the vapes were being sold 'primarily to children'.
The probe was sparked after a 14-year-old boy was seen leaving a property connected with the outfit. Minshull Street Crown Court heard that the four had been 'very frank' after being caught, in admitting they 'did it for money'.
Noting it was a 'highly profitable drug enterprise', Judge Jason MacAdam told them: 'You all, with the exception of Mr Rasul, had the benefit of proper upbringings. Parents in the community who have supported you all, and they expected more of you.
'You have let them all down. You were silly little boys playing at being gangsters. Do you really want to be like that? Scum of the earth, playing no positive contribution to society? Your parents expect far more."
Read the full story here: 'You were silly little boys playing at being gangsters'
A gunman's getaway has been jailed after the shooter fired at the home of a rival 'gang leader' 11 times amid a 'turf war'.
The shooter, who has never been found, blasted the house on Slade Lane in Levenshulme. Minshull Street Crown Court heard that miraculously no-one was hurt in the shooting, which targeted the home of a rival who lived with his family.
Jamaal Khan, 24, has now been jailed for driving the gunman to and from the scene of the shocking crime.
He then left the getaway car - which police said was a silver Peugeot 307 bought for £330 - and instructed others where as to its location, so could be torched in a bid to destroy evidence.
Read the full story here: Gunman's getaway driver jailed after shooter fired 11 times at home of rival 'gang leader' amid 'turf war'
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