Gang Sent More Than 1,700 Drug Parcels Through Royal Mail Before Police Exposed Their £2.2 Million Operation
Three men have been jailed after police uncovered what they described as a highly organised, industrial-scale drug operation that used the postal system to send illegal drugs across the UK.
Ross Fathi, Iain Potter, and Jack Wright were found to be running a large drug distribution network from a warehouse in Edenfield, Bury. Instead of selling drugs on the streets, the group allegedly used Royal Mail to send thousands of parcels filled with illegal drugs to customers across the country while trying to make the operation look like a legitimate business.
When police raided the warehouse, they discovered a professionally organised packing centre. Officers found packing tables, vacuum-sealing machines, label printers, and hundreds of Royal Mail sacks ready to be filled with parcels. Investigators also seized a huge range of illegal drugs, including cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, cannabis resin, THC edibles, and several other controlled substances.
Police said Royal Mail records showed the group had posted 1,724 parcels between February and April 2025 alone. The parcels weighed between 100 grams and 10 kilograms, and each one had a fake return address to make it harder for police to trace them if they were intercepted during delivery.
Detectives estimated that the gang sent at least 19 kilograms of cocaine through the post, along with many other drugs worth around £2.2 million in total. Officers also recovered encrypted mobile phones believed to have been used to hide communications between the group, as well as around £13,000 in cash.
The investigation began to close in on the gang in April 2025 when police stopped a vehicle in Ramsbottom. Potter and Wright were arrested after officers found a suitcase containing five kilograms of skunk cannabis. That discovery led detectives to carry out further searches at several properties connected to the suspects.
During those searches, officers found even more drugs, including cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and LSD, together with large amounts of packaging materials used to prepare the parcels for delivery.
Ross Fathi, who police said acted as the group’s courier and packer, was arrested at the Edenfield warehouse. Investigators later linked him to the conspiracy through encrypted messaging apps, where he was allegedly using the nickname “A Sam Poland A.”
At court, Iain Potter, 45, from Sefton Drive, Liverpool, and Jack Wright, 30, from Westgate Lane, Wakefield, were each sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison after admitting conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs.
Ross Fathi, 46, of Wingfield Drive, Wilmslow, was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of the same offences.
Detective Constable Liam Smith, from Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Crime Division, said the three men had built a criminal business that operated on an industrial scale. He explained that they used encrypted devices, fake addresses and sophisticated packaging methods to avoid detection while sending drugs across the country through the postal system.
He said the large quantity of drugs involved and the careful planning showed they were not low-level dealers but members of a well-organised criminal network focused on making as much money as possible. He added that the sentences should serve as a warning that police will continue to identify, dismantle and prosecute organised drug gangs wherever they operate.
