Drug Gang Posing as Police Officers Jailed for Over 30 Years in Blackpool
A sophisticated drugs gang that impersonated police officers to raid rival cannabis farms has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison collectively. The criminal group, operating under the name 'Ozone' and based in Blackpool, Lancashire, ran a warehouse facility described by authorities as an 'Amazon-style' operation for producing and distributing illegal substances.
Sophisticated Criminal Operation
The gang maintained a warehouse with dedicated rooms for storing, producing, packaging, and preparing multiple types of cannabis. Police discovered large quantities of harvested cannabis in various strains during a raid on August 21, 2024, along with vacuum-packed wholesale bags, street-level snap bags, scales, and other drug production equipment.
Ring members utilized modern communication platforms to conduct their illegal business, advertising drugs on Telegram before arranging sales through WhatsApp. Analysis of seized phones revealed detailed delivery routes, customer addresses, and photographic evidence of cannabis cultivation operations.
Police Impersonation Tactics
One of the gang's most alarming tactics involved dressing as police officers to burgle competitors. Photos recovered from confiscated phones showed gang member Mark Kirkwood posing in a police uniform from a force outside the area, while another member, Cole Muir, was photographed wearing a police-style high-visibility jacket.
The investigation began in March 2024 after three group members, including Kirkwood, arrived at a residence in Poulton-le-Fyle. Acting on instructions from gang leader Joshua Shaw, the trio wore face coverings and gloves while armed with weapons including a machete-type knife and a baseball bat.
Violent Home Invasion
The men stormed into the property demanding to know "where the weed was." A woman present in the house, whose children were upstairs at the time, was threatened that she had 20 minutes to surrender drugs or her home would be firebombed.
Police later discovered an empty cardboard box in the front garden containing polystyrene and empty vacuum-packed plastic bags. Inside the box was an invoice addressed to a different woman in Blackpool from a man in the United States, describing the contents as a coffee table and stools. Officers also located a tracking device, with enquiries revealing the parcel had been disposed of as a favor to a friend.
Sentencing and Prison Discovery
Ten individuals were arrested and charged in connection with the operation, with sentences now handed down:
- Joshua Shaw, 33, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and import cannabis and was found guilty of blackmail. He received 15 years imprisonment.
- Mark Kirkwood, 29, of Gynn Avenue, Blackpool, was found guilty of assisting an organised crime group and blackmail, and admitted further drug and burglary conspiracies. He was sentenced to eight years and six months.
- Albert Marashi, 30, of Cleveleys Avenue, Thornton, received four years imprisonment.
- David Everton, 33, of Ludlow Grove, was jailed for three years.
- Cole Muir, 27, of Bela Grove, Blackpool, received 42 weeks imprisonment.
- Five additional defendants received suspended sentences ranging from 15 to 17 months with community service requirements.
After being charged, Kirkwood was remanded to HMP Liverpool, where a subsequent search of his prison cell revealed a mobile phone hidden in a window vent. Although Kirkwood denied knowledge of the device, information on the phone linked him to further criminal activity.
Police Statement
Detective Sergeant Ant Alves commented on the case: "Shaw and Kirkwood thought that it was okay to threaten a woman and her children when their cannabis deliveries didn't go to plan. They ran a sophisticated setup to prepare and sell their drugs to some of the most vulnerable in Blackpool and the Fylde Coast."
The investigation uncovered evidence of communication between Shaw, Kirkwood, and other members of the drug line, revealing the extent of their coordinated criminal enterprise that combined violent intimidation with sophisticated production and distribution methods.
