Crystal meth gang's stash house bossed by 'Grandma'

BEHIND the door of an unremarkable flat in Ashton, a family-led drugs empire was booming.

-  AMY WALKER

Pumping out whopping amounts of meth from a Breaking Bad-style lab, business was good.

Little did neighbours know that yards away, an organised criminal outfit was hard at work producing kilo after kilo. It would later be revealed that a 13-strong gang was behind the operation - part of a wider, 'extensive' network of top-level crooks dealing in drugs and guns.

Now 11 members of the group have been jailed at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. Images inside the flat, offering a glimpse into the illicit enterprise at the Welbeck Street South flat before it was busted by cops, have been released.

At the heart of the business was kingpin James Mulligan. He ran the show with the help of his dad and brother Brian Mulligan Snr and Brian Mulligan Jnr. Second in command were David Keenan and Damian Batty.

They transported and collected packages of drugs before passing them to six others to flog on the streets of Greater Manchester. 'Grandma'- 72-year-old Sheila Mason - was in control of a stash house in Droylsden.

Confident in their roles, they got cocky - unaware the net was closing. Detectives from GMPs Serious Organised Crime Group were watching.

'Too comfortable in their patterns and routines, they got sloppy. Between April and October 2021, police in Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire made a number of arrests as members of the gang were caught carrying drugs and firearms.

By May 1, a surveillance operation was underway at Mulligan Snr's home.