Men jailed for £49,000 cocaine ferry importation plot

Manchester duo were part of an organised crime group

Report by BBC Isle of Man

Two men involved with a Manchester-based organised crime group that imported cocaine valued at £49,620 to the Isle of Man have been jailed.

Kane Jones and Thomas Lindop, both from Failsworth in Greater Manchester, admitted being involved in arranging for the Class A drugs to be taken by ferry to the island by a third man in February 2025.

Douglas Courthouse heard that Lindop, 39, had been linked to the package by his fingerprints, while 32-year-old Jones was identified through mobile phone messages and voice notes.

Jailing Jones and Lindop for 10 years and eight years respectively, Deemster Graeme Cook said: "Lots of people on this island will have been devastated by the supply of these drugs."

The court heard police had found the cocaine after it was brought to the island by Scott Goulden in a black Ford Focus that had travelled on the ferry from Heysham, Lancashire, on 13 February 2025.

A plastic bag containing the drugs was spotted, partially concealed, under the mat in the driver's side footwell.

The vehicle was pulled over for a check after port authorities spotted defects.

When the package was forensically examined, Lindop's fingerprints were discovered 15 times.

Information on Apple Maps on Goulden's phone also showed he had been in the area of Lindop's home address, in Densmore Street, prior to the drugs being taken to the Isle of Man.

Police identified Jones's involvement with the drugs plot – as well as £30,000 of criminal cash being taken back to Manchester from the island – through a series of messages and voice notes made by pay-as-you-go SIM cards that linked back to him.

The court heard Greater Manchester Police carried out an international search warrant on Lindop's home, which found evidence of drug dealing including snap bags, digital scales and white powder.

A machete and a large quantity of designer clothes and shoes were also found.

Jones, of Airton Close, was arrested and transported to the Isle of Man, while Lindop bought a ferry ticket to the island and handed himself in to police following the raid on 18 September, the court heard.

Police found three snap bags, containing £240 of cocaine, in his luggage after his arrest, the court was told.

Lindop said this was for personal use to feed his own addiction, and had been accidentally left in the pocket of a pair of his shorts when his bag was packed by his mother and partner, who did not know the drugs were there.

Lindop pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the importation of the Class A drug, while Jones admitted one count of the same charge and four counts of money laundering.

Prosecutors said Jones had played a "significant role" in both the importation of drugs and the movement of criminal cash.

The court was also told Lindop was "at the bottom of the pile".

Deemster Cook said both men had expressed remorse for the position they had found themselves in, rather than for the "misery" that the drugs had caused on the Isle of Man.

Island residents suffered as a result of the substance being imported and sold, he said, adding that people "thieve for it and use violence because of it".

The quantity of cocaine involved in the plot proved their links to the organised crime group in the Manchester area, the deemster added.

Goulden, from Warrington in Cheshire, was previously jailed for nine years for drugs and money laundering offences.