Twelve sentenced after £2m worth of drugs seized in Northern Ireland

Twelve people have been sentenced at Londonderry Crown Court over the sale and supply of drugs worth over £2 million into Northern Ireland. 

All 12 pleaded guilty to the offences which related to the possession and supply of cannabis and cocaine.

The court heard that the case centred on six drugs seizures in Belfast, Antrim, Hillsborough, Larne and Londonderry between September 2013 and August 2014.

      The seizures were:

• £618,200 cannabis at Seven Mile Straight, Antrim on 19 September 2013

•  £944,820 cocaine on Westlink, Belfast, on 5 December, 2013

•  £372,000 cocaine at Hillsborough on 22 May, 2014

•  £125,000 cocaine and cannabis at Beechwood Crescent, Londonderry on 13 June, 2014

•  £7,200 cocaine at Tranarossan Avenue, Derry on 7 August, 2014

•  £180,000 cannabis at Larne on 28 August, 2014

Declan Gallagher was sentenced to 9 years after he admitted seven charges including trafficking cannabis and cocaine  into Northern Ireland.

Thirty-four year old Gallagher, originally from Derry, was forced to flee to Manchester after he was shot in County Donegal in 2008.

Describing him as the “leader of a substantial criminal enterprise,” Judge Philip Babington added that while “all of the defendants may not have been known to each other, they were all known to Declan Gallagher."

Credit: PSNI 

Detective Inspector Tom McClure from Reactive and Organised Crime Branch, said:

“Gallagher was the leader of an organised crime group operating in Northern Ireland.

“A gang of criminal vigilantes thought the answer to the problem he posed was to murder him. This was wrong from every perspective – moral and legal. Furthermore, it did not solve anything.

“Instead, it made the problem worse as Gallagher fled to Manchester from where he continued to supply drugs into Northern Ireland - only on a grander scale thanks to newly acquired contacts in England.”

Gallagher’s 11 co-defendants were sentenced to a total of 31.5 years after they pleaded guilty to a string of drugs offences.

Credit: PSNI

Forty-four year old Declan Palmer received a seven year sentence for his role in five of the six seizures.

He pleaded guilty to a number of offences including aiding and abetting possession of Class A and Class B drugs with intent to supply.

His co-defendants, with addresses in Derry, Belfast and Manchester, were Benjamin Harding (25), Raymond Hamilton (32), Phillip Colville (44), Ryan Radcliffe (26), Edward Cameron (56), Michael Rainey (50) and Scott Southerton (42). They all received 3 year sentences.

Peter Gallagher, received an 18 month sentence suspended for 3 years, Louise Gallagher a 12 month sentence suspended for 3 years and Patrick Joseph Ward a 12 month sentence suspended for 2 years.

Credit: PSNI

Detective Inspector Tom McClure from Reactive and Organised Crime Branch, said:

“Gallagher was the leader of an organised crime group operating in Northern Ireland.

“A gang of criminal vigilantes thought the answer to the problem he posed was to murder him. This was wrong from every perspective – moral and legal. Furthermore, it did not solve anything.

“Instead, it made the problem worse as Gallagher fled to Manchester from where he continued to supply drugs into Northern Ireland - only on a grander scale thanks to newly acquired contacts in England.”

Detective Inspector Tom McClure 

Detective Inspector McClure said:

“Police have conducted a detailed, proactive investigation which has resulted in the conviction of 20 defendants to date, including the principal of this organised crime group Declan Gallagher.

“Two of the seizures were made in Derry and there was a strong Derry link to this criminal activity. But it was not confined to the north-west. Seizures were also made in Antrim, Belfast, Larne and Hillsborough.

“Gallagher believed he was controlling this criminality from what he thought was a safe distance, not getting his hands dirty. But he was wrong. Detectives began a covert investigation which used telephone data and surveillance to build a strong circumstantial case against him which resulted in his guilty pleas.

“The criminal justice system is the only proper and effective way to deal with serious criminality of this type and I would like to thank our colleagues in Greater Manchester Police, Police Scotland, and those in the National Crime Agency for their assistance.

“We would encourage people to tell us about their suspicions and we will act on any information which provides us with a lead.”