Drug man fails to win cut in jail term

A Failsworth man jailed for organising a £25 million drugs importation scheme — in which cannabis flooded into Manchester from Spain — has failed to convince top judges his sentence was too harsh. 

James McGuinness (41) was jailed for 7 1/2 years at Manchester Crown Court in May last year after admitting conspiracy to supply cannabis. McGuinness, of Lord Lane, was part of an intricate international network engaged in supplying a massive quantity of cannabis to the UK.

Judge John Saunders told London’s Appeal Court that the drugs were smuggled into the country by lorry from Spain, terminating in a Wythenshawe warehouse, where McGuinness distributed the merchandise throughout the North.

Detectives mounted an intensive covert surveillance operation in late 2005, monitoring 10 deliveries that reached the warehouse — intercepting the final 493kg consignment on December 16.

Judge Saunders — sitting in London’s Appeal Court with Lady Justice Hallett and Mr Justice Mackay — said this haul alone had a street value of around £1.5 million. The estimated total value of 10 deliveries was up to £25 million, the court heard.

Judge Saunders said McGuinness had admitted his role as organiser “at an important and practical level”. Given the scale of the criminal enterprise, and the level of his involvement, the sentence was not excessive, the judge concluded.