Liverpool trio jailed after two-year drugs investigation in Jersey

(L-R) David John Saunders, David John Morgan and Stephen Graham Ferguson were arrested after trying to smuggle cocaine into the island. Credit: States of Jersey Police

Three men have been sentenced to a total of 28 years following a two-year investigation by Jersey's border force into the smuggling of class A drugs.

40-year-old Stephen Graham Ferguson, 42-year-old David John Morgan and 44-year-old David John Saunders, all from Liverpool, were each handed sentences of 9 years and 4 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and money laundering offences.

They were arrested in 2020 after attempting to smuggle cocaine with a street value of £41,160 through the Airport.

The trio were arrested when they were caught trying to smuggle £41,160 worth of cocaine into the island in 2020. Credit: Government of Jersey

They were released pending investigation before they were re-arrested the following year, with Morgan being brought back to Jersey from the UK for charge and remand.

As part of the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service investigation, named Operation Kestrel, officers analysed messages between the men and their associates, alongside financial investigations. They worked in partnership with staff at the National Crime Agency to gather the evidence.

The trio then pleaded guilty to the charges in October.

Rhiannon Small, Senior Manager at JCIS, said: ‘The sentences today are the culmination of what has been a very lengthy and complex investigation into a Liverpool based syndicate, who were targeting Jersey to traffic Class A drugs.

‘JCIS officers have worked painstakingly and diligently to ensure that the men, who were facilitating multiple importations of commercial quantities of cocaine into Jersey, have been caught and have faced justice. The smuggling of drugs and the laundering of the proceeds of crime remain a high priority of the Customs & Immigration Service, and one which we will continue to work hard to combat.’