Manchester drug gang planned to torture and rob 82-year-old businessman at his family home

By Gangsters Inc. Editors

Six British men have been convicted after a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation uncovered their role in the supply of cocaine and a separate plot to torture and rob a Manchester man’s home and business. On Tuesday they were found guilty after a seven week trial.

The group, from Manchester, Warrington and Hertfordshire were all involved in supplying drugs worth almost a quarter of a million pounds. They included: William Skillen; Wayne Simmonds; Chris Sammon; Gerard Boyle; Gary Betts; John Sammon. Pictured above.

“You’ve got to give him a f****** slap”

Five of the men also conspired to commit a robbery that would include threatening to tie up the victims and cut off the ear of one of them. The NCA captured covert recordings of 57-year-old Gary Betts last year as he told associates that he had a “nice job” that would be “plenty of dough”.

He was joined by 57-year-old Gerard Boyle, brothers Chris and John Sammon, ages 32 and 35, and 39-year-old Wayne Simmonds.

The gang believed the victims to be holding a substantial cash sum at their home in Greater Manchester and discussed logistics of the robbery at the office of Boyle – who was the registered director of a plastics recycling firm.

Betts was heard to say: “His dad’s an old man and there’s only one kid in the house… You’ve got to give him a f****** slap …..you know what I mean? To tell you where the dough is.”

Wayne Simmonds agreed to carry out the robbery and discussed having a contact who specialized in impersonating police to gain entry to people’s homes.

“I’ll blowtorch your balls”

Simmonds’ contact, who used the encrypted messaging service EncroChat and referred to himself as “the old Bill”, had bragged to Simmonds about the emergency blue lights he had fitted to vehicles and was later described by Simmonds during the trial as someone “not to be messed with”.

Further conversations between the men indicated they were willing to torture victims to acquire the money: “I’d just walk in and I’ll just bang him and just tie him up, and cut his ear off and then tell him…I’ve been down your area and cut people up….Believe me I’ll blowtorch your balls and cut your ear off…Put it this way I know an iron hurts in your chest,” Betts said.

Betts, Boyle, Simmons, and the Sammons also discussed drug supply and pricing, including the purchase and sale of around five kilograms of cocaine.

Further searches of both the Manchester business premises where their conversations were recorded and a property on Sandgate Road, Southampton, linked to Simmonds, led to the discovery of 100 grams of cocaine, drugs paraphernalia including a drugs press and 3 kilograms of Boric acid.

They were arrested on May 11, 2020, along with 35-year-old William Skillen, who was also involved in the drug conspiracy.

They will be sentenced at the same court on August 23.

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