Two ‘incompetent’ drug dealers jailed for 12 years after leaving bag full of drugs missing on train

Jordan McCourt-Knight, 30 years old, from Roman Close, LeintwardinPowys and Harley Hall, 28, of Hope Bagot Lane, Knowbury, Shropshire, were members of a prolific drugs gang operating in the South West and Shropshire and importing drugs from Portugal.

The pair were jailed at Cardiff Crown last Friday after a lengthy remand. British Transport Police (BTP) investigation

Police said the investigation began in November 2019 when “incompetent criminal” McCourt-Knight left a bag containing a “large amount of ketamine” on a train at Newport station in South Wales.

Despite the couple running back, the train had already left the station and the bag was found by staff who uncovered the illegal contents and reported it to the police.

This led to a police search for the owner of the bag, whose capture was also aided by the fact that McCourt-Knight had reported the bag missing to staff at Newport station.

McCourt was arrested and found to be carrying small quantities of class A and C drugs, £1,910 in cash, drug paraphernalia and a number of mobile phones.

The street value of the total quantity of ketamine was between £19,940 and £39,880. One of the phones seized from McCourt-Knight turned out to be an ‘Encro device’, which cost thousands of dollars to purchase and use.

The court heard how McCourt-Knight and other members of the organized crime group used the app ‘Encro-Chat’ to discuss sourcing, supplying and receiving drugs from Portugal. McCourt-Knight’s costly mistake led to the unraveling of the entire drug pipeline and Harley Hall being identified in phone messages as another major player in the drugs industry.

The texts revealed Hall and McCourt-Knight promised higher grade cocaine and sold it to other members of the group for distribution to street dealers. But the deal went awry and the two fell out when customers complained that the cocaine wasn’t up to standards due to the amount of cutting agent used to bulk it up.

Following the receipt of the text messages, Hall was arrested and during a search of his home, thousands of pounds in cash and over 1kg of cannabis were seized.

McCourt-Knight eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply the class A drugs cocaine and MDMA and five counts of conspiracy to supply the class B drugs ketamine and cannabis. He was sentenced to six years and three months in prison.

Hall pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine and MDMA, three counts of conspiracy to supply ketamine and cannabis and one count of possession with intent to supply cannabis. He was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.

A third man, Cassius Davies-Thompson, aged 28 and of Walcot Street, Bath, was jailed for 12 months and suspended for 18 months after pleading guilty to possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.

Investigating officer DS Dan Murdoch said: “Our officers worked tirelessly to secure these convictions. McCourt-Knight and Hall were in direct contact with international pharmaceutical suppliers, supplying large numbers of class A, B and C drugs which were subsequently supplied to various parts of the UK.

“McCourt-Knight boasted of using the Encro Device, which was used in conjunction with a mobile phone, to supply and distribute drugs.

“But McCourt-Knight’s boast was short-lived; Because of a careless mistake, McCourt-Knight single-handedly helped take down the drug ring and unwittingly helped detectives solve the entire case.

“These individuals cause significant harm to our communities by supplying and profiting from illegal drugs, often exploiting vulnerable people in the process, and the fact that they are now behind bars is a testament to the work of the team.”