Two drug dealers have been jailed after one of them left a bag full of ketamine on a train – then reported it missing.
Jordan McCourt-Knight, 30, and Harley Hall, 28, of Hope were members of a drugs ring that operated across south west England, and imported from Portugal.
Their dealings were uncovered by the British Transport Police (BTP) after McCourt-Knight left a bag containing a large amount of ketamine on a train in 2019.
He and Hall tried to run back to the train to retrieve the bag but the train had already left the station.
Staff onboard found the bag and the drugs were discovered inside.
Incredibly, McCourt-Knight decided to report the bag as missing, immediately linking himself to the crime.
He was arrested and found with a small quantity of class A and class C drugs, £1,910 in cash, drug paraphernalia and several mobile phones.
In total, the ketamine had a street value of somewhere between £19,940 and £39,880.
Among the phones seized was a ‘Encro device, which uses an encrypted messaging service popular with criminals and costs thousands to buy.
Cardiff Crown Court heard how McCourt-Knight and other members of the organised crime group had used the ‘Encro-Chat’ app to discuss the sourcing, supply and receipt of drugs from Portugal.
McCourt-Knight’s costly mistake led to the unravelling of the entire drugs line with Harley Hall being identified through messages on the phone as another big player in the drugs enterprise.
Texts revealed Hall and McCourt-Knight had secured what he promised to be a higher grade of cocaine, which he was selling onto other members of the group to pass onto street dealers.
But the deal went wrong and the pair fell out when ‘customers’ complained that the cocaine was not up to standard due to the amount of cutting agent used to bulk it out.
Hall was then arrested and a search of his home found thousands of pounds in cash and over 1kg of cannabis.
BTP Investigating officer DS Dan Murdoch said: ‘Our officers worked tirelessly to bring about these convictions. McCourt-Knight and Hall were in direct communication with International drug suppliers, sourcing numerous class A, B and C drugs which were then supplied throughout various parts of the UK.
‘McCourt-Knight boasted about his use of his Encro-Device which was used along with his mobile phone to source and distribute the drugs.
‘But his boastfulness was short lived, as, through one careless mistake, McCourt – Knight single-handedly helped bring down the drugs ring, unwittingly aiding detectives in unravelling the entire enterprise.
‘These individuals cause significant harm to our communities through the supply of and profit from illicit drugs, often exploiting vulnerable persons in the process, and it is testament to the work of the team that they are now behind bars.’
McCourt-Knight, of Roman Close, Leintwardine, Powys, Wales pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply a class A drug (cocaine and MDMA) and five counts of conspiracy to supply a class B drugs (4 x ketamine and 1 x cannabis).
He was jailed for six years and three months.
Hall, of Hope Bagot Lane, Knowbury, Shropshire, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply a class A drug (cocaine and MDMA), three counts of conspiracy to supply a class B drug (2 x ketamine and 1 x cannabis) and one count of possession with intent to supply cannabis.
He was jailed for five years and 10 months.
A third man, Cassius Davies-Thompson, aged 28, of Walcot Street, Bath, was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for 18 months after pleading guilty to possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.
All three were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on November 8..
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