Ten-member cocaine gang jailed in Burnley after lavish lifestyle funded by drug sales
Ringleader Paddy Nolan, 29, received nearly 12 years at Burnley Crown Court. All ten members pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine in Lancashire.
Burnley cocaine network dismantled: ringleader gets nearly 12 years
Ten members of a cocaine distribution gang have been jailed at Burnley Crown Court after funding spa days and lavish lifestyles through street-level drug sales across east Lancashire, bbc.co.uk reports.
Ringleader Paddy Nolan, 29, of Hallam Road, Nelson, Lancashire, was sentenced to 11 years and eight months. Nolan oversaw the importation of kilogramme quantities of cocaine into the county and directed a network responsible for distributing the drugs and collecting debts from buyers.
Ross Boys, of Burnley, described by Lancashire Police as Nolan's most trusted mid-level distributor, was sentenced to seven years and six months. Boys supplied cocaine to other dealers operating across east Lancashire. Darren Mott, of Irlam, Salford, who served as the gang's cash courier, received six years and nine months.
Mott was arrested on 14 November 2024 after officers observed him carrying a large rucksack while in the company of Nolan. He subsequently transferred to a separate vehicle, which police stopped. Officers found £100,000 in cash inside the rucksack.
Evidence gathered during the investigation showed Nolan had accumulated significant personal wealth, with access to large volumes of cash that financed a high-end lifestyle, Lancashire Police said.
Nolan, Boys and Mott were arrested in November 2024. Seven further members of the network were arrested later that same month and sentenced in January 2025:
- Matthew Waterworth, 34, of Burnley — five years
- Regan Burnie, 34, of Burnley — four years and 11 months
- Aaron Cormack, 31, of Burnley — three years and nine months
- Luke Barritt, 37, of Burnley — three years and eight months
- Leon Canning, 27, of Burnley — three years and two months
- Jacob Dewhurst, 29, of Burnley — three years and two months
- Jamie Howes, 29, of Padiham — three years and one month
All ten pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Chief Inspector Sarah Denson said: "This gang made significant amounts of money peddling drugs on our streets but despite their best efforts to cover their tracks and to evade capture are now behind bars."
Source: Irish Independent