Seven individuals involved in a drug ring formerly led by Thomas Campbell before his death in 2022 have been sentenced for their roles in a £1.6 million scheme to distribute class A narcotics in the northern areas of Manchester and Tameside.
Following Thomas Campbell’s murder in Mossley, Tameside, his brother Lee Campbell assumed control of the criminal group’s activities, as revealed by prosecutor Emma Swindel at Manchester Crown Court.
Law enforcement authorities uncovered a “graft line,” a mobile contact used for drug distribution, which enabled the police to apprehend other members of the gang. This group managed to traffic 16.5 kilograms of class A drugs between March 14, 2024, and January 30, 2025, as per reports from Manchester Evening News.
Lee Campbell, with a history of 11 prior convictions for 18 offenses, including a previous prison sentence of three years and nine months for robbery and a four-year term in 2015 for possessing cocaine with intent to supply, was highlighted by the judge as a key figure in the illicit operation.
All seven defendants admitted to conspiring to distribute class A drugs. Lee Campbell, residing at Lightfoot Walk in Beswick, east Manchester, received a sentence of nine years and four months. Kelly Bundell from North Road in Clayton and Mark McGrath from Heather Street, Clayton, both received jail terms of two years and eight months.
Stephen Quinn of Edge Lane in Droylsden was sentenced to three years and four months, while Mark Salinger from Ladylands Avenue in Clayton was given a two-year suspended sentence. Paul Taylor from Gleneagles Avenue in Clayton received a jail term of two years and eight months, and Carlo Tommasello from Droylsden Wharf Road in Droylsden was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.