Gang jailed after large seizure of heroin and cocaine

Guy Remington, aged 48, from Welsh Bicknor, was involved in the importation and distribution of millions of pounds of heroin and cocaine.

His fellow criminals were Luke Hirst, 37, of Deeside, Thomas Smith, 41, from Liverpool and Morgan Towner, 47, of Leatherhead in Surrey.

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Remington, pictured top left below, imported the drugs from Europe through the Channel Tunnel by hiding them in secret compartments in a trailer and took them to Hirst’s farm, Tirlas Goch in Deeside. They were then parcelled up separately and taken away to be distributed throughout the UK.

Smith, a class A drug dealer based in Liverpool, took the drugs from the farm for onward distribution through his network of suppliers.

Towner took drugs from the farm down to the south of England using a van with a hidden compartment designed to conceal the drugs.

Between May and September 2023, Remington made nine trips to Europe via the Channel Tunnel, bringing millions of pounds worth of cocaine and heroin back into the country.

Guy Remington, Luke Hirst, Thomas Smith and Morgan Towner all pleaded guilty to the charges (Image: Crown Prosecution Service)

On 20 September 2023, police moved in on the farm and arrested Remington, after he’d brought in another consignment of drugs. Hirst was arrested nearby in a taxi.  Cocaine and heroin with a potential street value of over £64 million was recovered.

Smith was arrested at a house in Garrowby Drive, Liverpool on 18 October and Towner on 26 October 2023 at a house in Station Road in Leatherhead.

Mobile phones found at the farm, and on the arrest of Towner and Smith, contained messages showing the high level of organisation and planning involved in this sophisticated criminal operation.

Remington was charged with conspiracy to import and supply class A drugs.

Hirst, Smith and Towner were charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs and were sentenced to 12 years, 18 years and seven years respectively. Smith was further charged with possession with intent to supply MDMA and possession of cannabis.

All four men pleaded guilty when they appeared at Chester Crown Court.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Nicola Wyn Williams of CPS Mersey-Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit said: “This was a slick operation carried out with precision and planning.

"Once it was known that the defendant Remington had left the UK on 18 September 2023, it was believed that he would return in possession of class A drugs."