Man who used family home in Manchester as 'lab' to produce ecstasy tablets jailed

A man who used his family home as a makeshift laboratory to manufacture thousands of ecstasy tablets has been jailed.

Officers were first alerted to Jian Huang after an anonymous concern for welfare was made to police about the sounds of arguing and a women and child heard shouting inside a home in Moston, Manchester.

Huang, 44, was "extremely evasive" when questioned by police about his female partner and children, which raised more concerns for their welfare.

Officers went inside the house where they found the doors to the upstairs bedrooms padlocked.

When Huang said he had no keys to these rooms, officers forced their way in and found an extremely large amount of class A drugs, a tablet production machine and associated equipment.

Approximately 38,500 ecstasy tablets were seized by officers, with the drug in various stages of preparation.

Some were suspended in liquid, some drying and thousands in tablets. It is believed they were being prepped for sale.

Police say it is likely the pills were bound for Parklife, due to the time of year they were recovered - just a couple of months prior to the festival in Manchester's Heaton Park.

Huang pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs, and was jailed sentenced to nine years at Manchester Minshull Street Court.

Detective Constable Heather Gore, from Greater Manchester Police's "Challenger" organised crime team, said: "This case is a great example of how much we rely on the public to report crime to us - trust your instincts and we will root out criminality together.

"Response officers did an outstanding job in bringing Huang to justice.

"It looked like Huang was preparing to sell these drugs which would have likely ended up at festivals such as Parklife, so seizing such a huge quantity was a significant result."

She added: "The address appeared to be a laboratory for converting ecstasy from its liquid form, to a pressed tablet.

"There was approximately 38,500 ecstasy tablets, 7kgs of unpressed ecstasy, and 10 litres containing methylamphetamine.

"The tablets alone have a street value of approximately £385,000."

"Challenger" is Greater Manchester’s partnership response to tackling serious and organised crime.

It works to pursue and disrupt serious and organised crime groups as well as reduce the risks to vulnerable people and stop them from becoming victims.

This type of criminality includes county lines, exploitation of young children and vulnerable adults, modern slavery, immigration and economic crime and the use of firearms.

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