Two men sentenced after £45k stash of Spice was seized in Moston
Police stumbled across the drugs by chance at the scene of a crash.
Last updated 31st Aug 2017
Two men have been sentenced after more than £45,000 worth of spice was seized in Moston.
Officers stumbled across the drugs whilst responding to the scene of a crash on the M6 in November last year.
They found a transit van abandoned on the motorway embankment loaded with drugs, and two mobile phones which led officers to Anthony Hunt and Joshua O’Brien.
The following day on 27 November 2016 O’Brien was detained by police in possession of £7,500 worth of heroin and cocaine and a substantial amount of cash.
In February 2017, police then raided Hunt’s home address in Moston and found a quantity of spice with an estimated street value of £46,200, cannabis with a street value of £2,500 and amphetamine with a street value of £8,000.
Hunt, 32, of Rudston Avenue, Moston (pictured below) was today jailed for seven years and nine months after pleading guilty to a raft of drugs offences.
His associate John O’Brien, 32, of Bluestone Road, Manchester, was given a 12-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine.
Sergeant Ian Haselden of GMP’s City of Manchester team said: “This was one of the most significant seizures of spice we have ever had in Greater Manchester which clearly indicates that Anthony Hunt was prolific in his distribution of it.
“There has been a lot of coverage in recent months about spice and the effects that it can have on people and I hope this investigation will go some way to showing how serious we are in our efforts to remove as much of it from the streets as possible.
“As a result of their actions, Hunt now faces a lengthy stint in prison and if O’Brien commits any further offences he too could end up behind bars, of which they fully deserve.”