Drug dealers’ sentence appeal rejected

AN Oldham man has lost his appeal against a jail sentence for drug dealing.

Jamie Knox (27), of Oakworth Croft, was jailed for nine years and four months in May for his role in an £800,000 trans-Pennine drugs conspiracy.

Three senior judges at London’s Appeal Court rejected his challenge and that of two of his group, all convicted of conspiracy to supply class-A drugs.

Robert Thomas Hickman (29), of Middlesborough, was jailed for 16 years. He was told he must serve extra time for mounting a “hopeless” sentence appeal.

Jason Turnbull (33), of Thornaby, must serve 10 years and five months.

Judge Peter Collier QC said there were 19 further co-conspirators implicated in the huge plot to flood Teesside with class-A drugs. More than 100 drug runs were made from North-West to North-East between January 2012 and March 2013.

Police recovered more than 6kg of heroin, worth £690,000, 2.2kg of cocaine, worth £92,965, and 437 grams of crack cocaine, worth £41,201. The overall plot involved the transport of hundreds of kilos of drugs, said Judge Collier.

Knox played a significant role, holding some of the drugs. Properties connected to him were found to contain substantial quantities of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine.

Barristers for all three men insisted their jail terms were excessive and should be cut.

But Judge Collier, sitting with Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Stewart, said: “These applications are unarguable”.