Drugs gang jailed over £5m Husthwaite amphetamine lab

Members of a gang who ran a drugs lab capable of making more than half a tonne of amphetamines have been jailed.

The operation was discovered in an outbuilding in Husthwaite, North Yorkshire, after neighbours reported suspicious activity and a smell of chemicals coming from the premises.

North Yorkshire Police said the lab was capable of producing class B drugs with a street value of up to £5m.

Four men have been jailed for their involvement in the operation.

Philip Lister, 41, and his brother-in-law, Ryan Beer, 31, were arrested when police raided the property in the early hours of 28 April 2020.

Officers found "a significant amount" of hazardous chemicals, laboratory equipment and £20,000 in cash.

It was later discovered Lister, described as the "chef", was using the encrypted communication service EncroChat to contact Stephen Singleton, who ran a chemical company based in St Helens, and Jordan Russell Blackburn, who was the director of a cleaning solutions company based in West Yorkshire.

The force said the gang had enough chemicals stored at the lab to make 523kg of "street-purity" amphetamine.

All four men were jailed at Teesside Crown Court on 13 January, but their sentences can only now be reported following the conclusion of other proceedings.

Det Con Neil Borchardt said: "This was a significant criminal enterprise that was disrupted thanks to the suspicions of local people who were concerned about the constant activity at the property and the smell of chemicals emanating from the building."

Lister, of Wykebeck Avenue, Osmandthorpe, Leeds, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce class B drugs and money laundering and was jailed for four years and four months.

Beer, of Chandos Mews, Leeds, was found guilty of conspiracy to produce class B drug and jailed for two years and four months.

Singleton, 36, of York Road, Birkdale, Sefton, was found guilty of conspiracy to produce class B drug and jailed for nine years and two months.

Blackburn, 34, of York Road, Leeds, was found guilty of conspiracy to produce class B drug and jailed for eight years and nine months.

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