Two brothers who were key figures in a town's drug trade have been jailed following a police probe that led to the discovery of guns and grenades.
Terence Nash maintained a stash of weapons that included two revolvers and a sawn-off shotgun stored in the loft of a Kirkby safehouse.
That arsenal backed up the cocaine dealing operation he ran with older sibling Anthony and a network of close associates.
The brothers were today sentenced to a combined total of 39 years and 15 months in jail.
Two other members of their gang, Dennis Boynton and Ronnie McPadden, were also locked up, while John Farrell and Joseph Harding had their sentencing postponed until next month due to issues related to coronavirus.
The Nash brothers' drugs conspiracy was dealt its first major blow on September 11, 2019.
Police watched - for the second time that month - one of their frontline dealers as he drove around Kirkby selling drugs.
His home was then raided and a search team found 300 small knotted bags - 201 of which contained cocaine while the others were filled with diamorphine.
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Police continued to monitor the gang’s activity, watching separate meetings involving key figures on September 17.
Over a six hour period officers tracked a secret gathering at one home, were involved in a car chase through Kirkby town centre with Anthony Nash's Audi Q8 and then struck at what turned out to be a safehouse on Bewley Drive.
That early morning raid – which started just before 2am – led to the discovery of a safe that was removed and cut open. Inside was £32,980 and 292g of cocaine that was given a street value of between £11,700 and £29,000.
Eighty three minutes after the safe was removed Terence Nash checked into the Holiday Inn Express just outside Kirkby with Dennis Boynton, who had been tracked to the safehouse in the hours before it was targeted by police.
Put simply, Keith Sutton, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court: “Mr Nash and Mr Boynton had avoided their respective homes that night. They knew that they were linked with the contents of the safe found at Bewley Drive.”
Forensic analysis ultimately revealed the DNA of both on the bags containing the cash and the drugs, which were of 83% purity.
The following day, officers watched Anthony Nash, Farrell and Harding as they met at Farrell’s Minstead Avenue home.
They stopped Harding shortly after he left the property in his Toyota Avensis. Inside his pocket was 492g of cocaine with a purity of 87% and a potential street value of between £19,714 and £49,287.
When police examined an iPhone they seized from him they discovered a draft message to Anthony Nash that he is believed to have been writing as the device was taken from him.
It read: “SORRY TONY.”
As one police team swooped on Harding a second targeted the Minstead Avenue venue of the gang members’ meeting just minutes earlier.
Farrell was arrested inside the home, where a locked safe was found bolted to the wall. It was removed, opened and, inside, 7kg of cocaine with a potential street value of between £277,305 and £691,487 was revealed.
The packaging of those drugs was forensically linked to both Nash brothers.
A search team resumed its efforts inside the property the following day and uncovered an arsenal of weapons hidden in the loft. Two revolvers – one of which was loaded – a sawn-off shotgun, ammunition and five grenades featured within the haul.
Jurors who sat on the Nash brothers’ trial last year acquitted Anthony of any involvement with the weapons.
But Terence, who experts believed had been in contact with all of the guns and the bag in which the grenades were stored, was convicted of a series of firearms offences.
The bust on the Minstead Avenue safehouse sparked panic and led to the Nash brothers fleeing the UK. Mobile phone data showed they travelled to the North Wales town of Holyhead, caught a ferry to Ireland and then flew to Spain to escape the clutches of police.
Opening their trial in October, Mr Sutton told jurors: “Anthony Nash and Terence Nash knew they had to get away from the area and if possible get out of the jurisdiction. It is the prosecution case they fled to Spain to get out of the way.”
But while attempting to lie low, cracks in their relationship began to show and they flew home to England in December, only to be arrested on their return.
Anthony Nash, of Bracknall Close in the Southdene area of Kirkby, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to possess criminal property.
The 36-year-old was portrayed to the court as a dad as a "hard working man, a loving man and a loyal family man", but Judge Suzanne Goddard, QC, said he only had himself to blame for being locked up while his children grow.
Judge Goddard also dismissed claims his acquittal on the firearms charges meant he did not play a leading role in the gang.
Terence Nash, of James Holt Avenue in the Westvale area of the town, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracies to possess a firearm, ammunition, an explosive substance and criminal property.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs - but Judge Goddard described his plea and subsequent evidence to jurors and simply a "deliberate attempt to manipulate the court process to your own and your brother's advantage".
Terence Nash was described as being "held in high regard" by friends and family and understanding the impact his sentence would have on them.
The 35-year-old would use his time behind bars "properly, to correct and better himself", the court was told.
Judge Goddard said Terence, like Anthony, was responsible for the impact his jailing will have on loved ones.
Boynton, of Grantham Avenue, Westvale pleaded guilty conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possess criminal property.
The 43-year-old was said to have had just a short involvement in the conspiracy and it was highlighted he did not flee the country.
McPadden, of Crosland Road, Southdene also admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, with his barrister stressing the value of that plea to the 35-year-old's case.
Sentencing the men on Tuesday morning, Judge Suzanne Goddard, QC, said the group was "undoubtedly a significant gang of criminals" and commended the Merseyside Police team behind their downfall for their "tenacious" efforts.
Terence Nash was sentenced to 24 years in jail; Anthony Nash was a handed a sentence of 15 years and six months; Boynton was jailed for seven years and three months and McPadden for six years and four months.
Farrell, 40 and of Minstead Avenue, admitted two counts of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracies to possess a firearm, ammunition, an explosive substance and to supply Class A drugs.
Joseph Harding, 55 and of Cawthorne Avenue, Kirkby admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Both will be sentenced on April 14.
Following this morning's hearing, Detective Inspector Christopher Lowe, of Merseyside Police, said: “Through meticulous investigative work and working closely alongside Crown Prosecution Service, these outcomes are a massive blow to those who would seek to profit from serious and organised crime.
"Drugs destroy lives across our communities, and this group’s collection of firearms and explosives could have caused even more devastation."
