Life of luxury of drugs boss who had property empire, enjoyed Spanish villas and paid kid's private school fees in cash

Gregory Bell, a drugs boss, built a massive property empire funded by his criminal activities, including dealing cocaine and heroin. He owned 34 properties in Manchester and villas in Spain, living in a posh rented apartment and sending his daughter to private school, paying her fees in cash. Bell, 43, and his associates, Ian Ogden and Paul Brown, were part of a sophisticated drug trafficking gang that supplied criminals nationwide. They used safehouses in Greater Manchester and EncroChat to communicate, but were caught when law enforcement penetrated the network. Their gang dealt over 315 kg of class A drugs and amassed around £2.2 million in cash. While Bell and Ogden pleaded guilty to multiple charges, Brown claimed to be a mere broker trying to support his family. Sentencing for the trio is set for Monday, with Bell’s criminal record previously clean and testimonials praising his prison behaviour.

Read the full article at Manchester Evening News