A pair of men from Ellesmere Port at the head of an operation that saw over 95kg of cannabis smuggled from Spain to the UK have been jailed. Jack Pritchard and Matthew Hall were sentenced to a combined total of six years in prison following a hearing at Chester Crown Court.

The men both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import a Class B controlled drug with intent to evade a prohibition. Hall, 30, of Northern Rise, Great Sutton, also pleaded guilty to offering to supply a cocaine. He and Pritchard, 26, of Scotton Avenue, Little Sutton, were at the head of the operation and in charge of sourcing and importing large quantities of cannabis from Spain and then organizing the onward supply of the cannabis in the UK. In September 2020, four packages containing cannabis, all heading to addresses in Ellesmere Port, were intercepted by the UK Border Agency who then notified Cheshire Constabulary. Detective Constable Wellings said: "This was an extensive and complex investigation which clearly showed Pritchard and Hall as head members of a calculated plan to bring illegal drugs into Ellesmere Port.