Drug man’s plea fails to cut it with judges

AN Oldham man involved in a sophisticated drugs operation in which pharmaceutical cutting agents were intended to bulk out a large haul of cocaine failed to convince Appeal Court judges his sentence was too tough.

Giovanni Taurasi (38), of Valley Mews, Oldham, along with Andrew Carey (35) Timothy John Bromley (36) and Darren Lee Taylor (36) were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court last October for a plot in which 2.75 kilos of cocaine were seized by police.

Carey, described as being at the heart of the conspiracy, was jailed for nine years after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine, while Bromley and Taylor received respective sentences of seven and eight years after they were convicted of the same charge.

Taurasi was given an 11-year sentence following his conviction of conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Mr Justice Coulson, sitting in London’s Appeal Court with Lord Justice May and Sir Robert Nelson, said the four were arrested in April, 2008, after Carey and Taurasi were observed buying a specialist press and a food blender — intended for use in mixing cocaine with a cutting agent.

Taylor’s role was to supply and mix in the cutting agent required to bulk out the 55 per cent pure cocaine, to maximise profits on the streets. Bromley, of Leeds, was a delivery man tasked with collecting the merchandise and ferrying it back to his hometown.

Police seized a total of 2.75 kilos of cocaine from Carey’s home, and another property linked to the conspiracy. The cocaine had a street value of around £200,000. Bromley had also picked up an unknown quantity of cocaine from Carey’s home in his rucksack.

Taurasi, Carey, of Bury, Taylor, of Whitfield, and Bromley, argued their sentences were over the top.

Mr Justice Coulson, however, dismissed their challenges.

He described Carey as the “instigator of the conspiracy”, but said they had all played necessary roles —with Taurasi and Taylor being key players. None of the sentences were “manifestly excessive”, the judge concluded.