Detectives seized £20 million worth of cocaine during an astonishing motorway swoop, sending two brothers' drugs empire crashing down.
A drug runner delivering 186kg of the Class A substance from Kent to Warrington for kingpin siblings Alan, 51, and John Tobin, 40, was forced to lie on the M6 as officers recovered the haul - the biggest UK seizure of the substance in history.
A police helicopter captured the moment a blue van and a Nissan Qashqai following close behind were pulled over on August 2, 2018, before Jamie Simpson was grounded.
Simpson, 31, was yesterday jailed for 11 years and six months for conspiracy to supply cocaine, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The intercepted drugs were on their way to Anthony Cullen, 33, and 30-year-old Jamie Oldroyd's organised crime gangs.
Undercover officers had earlier kept watch as John Tobin met with Cullen, as well Robbie Broughton - who helped run their empire - and Robert Bibby at a countryside café, where they discussed the supply of drugs.
John Tobin’s DNA was later found deposited on the bubble wrap of one of the drug blocks he watched being placed into boxes during the packing process.
Meanwhile, Alan Tobin was observed meeting with Oldroyd and Simpson at another café in Warrington to talk over the onward supply of class A drugs to organised crime gangs in Carlisle, Liverpool, Scunthorpe and Sussex.
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The brothers also sold cannabis, heroin, ketamine and cocaine to other gangs in Scotland, London, North Wales, Cornwall, West Yorkshire, Cumbria, Manchester and Humberside.
Investigators called the criminal organisation "smooth and successful" until a three-pronged operation was launched under the names Operation Bullfight, Operation Samurai and Operation Dreadnought.
The operations led to large amounts of drugs and money being seized by police and resulted in debts owed to the Tobin brothers that were too big for the day-to-day employees to deal with.
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This led to the Tobins having to become more hands on and, on one occasion, Alan Tobin was seen meeting with Cullen at a pub car park in Warrington where a heated argument took place between them.
But the criminal ring was ultimately taken down for good on September 9, last year, when - 18 months after the motorway sting - raids were executed in Widnes, Warrington and St Helens and all the men were arrested and subsequently charged.
The Tobins, as well as Broughton, 38, and Brian McQuillan, 51, and Simon Leech, 29 - both also involved in the enterprise, all pleaded guilty in separate court hearings.
Leech, of Brindley Avenue, Warrington, pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Alan Tobin, previously of Regency Park, Widnes, had accepted a charge of conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply ketamine on January 20.
John Tobin, of no fixed abode, also pleaded guilty on January 20 to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to supply ketamine.
Broughton, of Breccia Gardens, St Helens, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to supply ketamine.
McQuillan, of Buttermarket Street, Warrington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine.
They are all yet to be sentenced.
Cullen was handed a 27 year prison term in January 2019 and Oldroyd is also now serving a sentence of 14 years and three months for cocaine dealing.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Evans, from Cheshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “Taking down the mainstream supplier of drugs to three big organised crime groups operating in Warrington was the final piece of the jigsaw.
“The brothers sat at the very top of the chain."
He went on to say they were initially able to sit back and reap the rewards as their enterprise got "bigger and bigger", but soon the police operations caused to "surface".
DCI Evans said the seizure of the cocaine haul "saw their reputation ruined".
