Two jailed over cannabis conspiracy

TWO men have been jailed for two-and-a-half years after conspiring to sell thousands of pounds worth of cannabis in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.

Philip Ward and Jason Osborne met to arrange a large-scale transaction of the class-C drug outside Buffet Island restaurant in Milehouse Lane, Cross Heath, on December 4, 2007.

Two days later Ward, aged 33, from Lee Park Avenue, Liverpool, drove to Osborne's house in Linley Grove, Alsager, to deliver the drugs.

Prosecutor Jane Sarginson told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday Ward arrived at the restaurant in an Audi A3 and parked next to a BMW driven by Osborne.

She said: "The two of them got in the Audi and had an eight-minute conversation."

A third defendant, Keith Hague, who was last month jailed for 32 months for his part in the conspiracy, was, unbeknown to police at the time, also outside the restaurant in a Fiat Punto.

Miss Sarginson said: "Osborne got out of the Audi and went to the BMW, took something out and walked towards the Punto. They then left. The police say that liaison was the setting up."

Shortly after 6pm on December 6, Ward drove towards Osborne's home. There were a number of phone calls from Osborne to Hague and one from Ward to Osborne shortly before Ward went into the house.

A minute later Osborne called Hague who returned the call a few minutes later.

At 6.20pm the Punto arrived at the house and Hague went inside. Two minutes later Ward and Hague left.

"The Audi left, followed by the Punto. They went round the corner and parked behind each other," said Miss Sarginson. "Ward was observed taking a bag from the rear of the Audi to the back of the Punto."

Both men were stopped by police soon after.

Hague, aged 36, of Mount Street, Hanley, was found with 128 nine-bar blocks of cannabis resin weighing 31.77kg. If sold in nine-bar blocks they would have been worth £44,800 but if sold to street users in 3.5-gram packages the haul would have been worth in excess of £120,000.

Osborne, aged 36, was arrested at his home soon afterwards.

Both Osborne and Ward denied the allegation in their police interviews but pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a class-C drug on the day of their trial on December 15 last year.

Osborne pleaded guilty on the basis that for £500 he made some calls to facilitate the delivery of cannabis. Ward's basis of plea was that he acted as a courier.

Both basis were accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Peter McCartney, defending Osborne, said the offence was out of character and his client made a serious error of judgment.

Sarah Holt, defending Ward, said the father-of-three was easily led and he had been trying to please others.

Judge Granville Styler told the defendants: "You both must have realised you were part of a professional drug ring supplying large quantities of cannabis resin."

Both will serve up to half their sentence with the rest on licence.