Craig Clifton, 40, of no fixed address, has been jailed for 18 years for leading a Liverpool drug trafficking and money laundering operation that ran for seven years. The gang sold cocaine, heroin and cannabis worth up to £1.6m, with one phone line alone estimated to have an annual earning potential of up to £1m.
How the gang laundered its profits
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Clifton used his mother's company, CandC Estates Northwest Ltd, to buy and rent out properties, arranging false rental payments to disguise drug money. His associate Sam Murphy spent cash on artwork from the Clarendon Fine Art Gallery in Liverpool ONE.
Other conspirators, including Connor Whittle and Joshua De-Asha, were recruited to deliver drugs to users. The home addresses of Robert McGregor and Ruth Mackenzie were used to store and package stock.
Seizures and sentencing
Police recovered a total of 80.5kg of cannabis, 4.1kg of cocaine and half a kilogram of heroin, worth an estimated £985,059 to £1,642,078 at street level.
Judge Louise Brandon told Clifton: "You were at the head of this drug trafficking and money laundering enterprise. You have all contributed to the degradation and human misery that drugs cause to those who take them, their families and the wider community."
Murphy was jailed for 12 years, while other gang members received sentences ranging from four to eight years. A woman convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and money laundering is still awaiting sentencing.
