FOUR members of a gang based in Leigh who supplied doctored cocaine acoss Manchester, Lancashire and the West Midlands have been jailed for a total of nearly 20 years.

The gang rented a house in Leigh where they stored and compressed the drug into blocks to make it look as though it was in a purer form so they could sell it for more money.

The ringleader was Atherton man, Warren Cox, who was caught by police breaking apart a block of cocaine with a hammer.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Cox was the brains behind the gang and obtained cocaine from a number of different contacts.

He had hired the storage facility and worked with Andrew Creighton and Anne Marie O'Connor, who used their Leigh homes to supply the cocaine to others, including Lowton man Michael Redfern.

In April 2004, police executed a search warrant at OConnor's home to find her and Cox inside.

He was in the kitchen, using a hammer he had previously picked up from Creighton's home, to break open a block of compressed white powder, later identified as cocaine.

Officers also found electronic weighing scales, cling film, food bags and a further block of cocaine hidden under some tea towels. Inside a kitchen cupboard was a cashbox which contained another block of cocaine.

Also found in the kitchen were implements used for cutting up drugs and a food mixer.

A total of 1.21 kilos (2.6lbs) of cocaine was recovered from the house with an estimated street value of £100,000.

A search revealed a mechanical press and plates used to produce bars of cocaine and a search of Coxs flat uncovered £1,000 in cash.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that last April, Cox and Redfern were seen meeting at a fast food restaurant car park in Whitefield.

Cox met another man and took a bag from him and placed it in the car Redfern was driving.

Cox, aged 38, of Phaeton Close, Atherton, was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possession of cocaine and cannabis.

O'Connor, aged 42, of Firs Lane, Leigh, who is Cox's cousin, was jailed for two and a half years after pleading guilty to allowing her premises to be used in the production of cocaine.

Creighton, aged 34, of Guest Street, Leigh, was sentenced to four and a half years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, two counts of supplying cocaine, and one of possession of ecstasy with intent to supply.

Redfern, aged 24, of Redstart Close, Lowton, was jailed for two and a half years after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

The four were arrested as part of an investigation by detectives from the National Crime Squad.

Redfern was arrested outside his home a few days after the raid on O'Connor's home and police found a telephone that contained Cox's mobile number stored under the name "Boss".