Cocaine plot man loses jail plea

AN Oldham man who tried to cover up his role in a £250,000 cocaine plot by writing a scripted account of events for gang members to follow has failed in an Appeal Court bid to clear his name.

Paul Gerald Partington (43), of Montgomery Street, was convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine at Manchester Crown Court in October, 2006, and sentenced to 12 years behind bars.

London’s Court of Appeal heard on Friday that the plot — in which three others were involved — was uncovered when one of Partington’s accomplices threw a box of drugs into his garden in a bid to escape police.

When police recovered the box they found 3.6kg of pure cocaine with an estimated street value of £250,000, inside.

Partington’s legal team tried to convince Lord Justice Dyson, sitting with Mr Justice Henriques and Mr Justice David Clarke, that his conviction was “unsafe”.

Throughout his trial, Partington claimed he thought the box contained tobacco.

However, Lord Justice Dyson said that was “unrealistic”, particularly in the light of the script found at his mother’s home.