Bolton man made 'trips to North America' in drugs plot

Sonny Dainton was involved in the plot between June 2023 and January this year before he was eventually arrested.

Bolton Crown Court heard how police became aware of the scale of the conspiracy after looking at messages he had been sending and receiving.

Prosecutor Holly Menary said: “There was evidence of 21 shipments of drugs on his phone.”

She told the court that the messages showed images of the progress of the illegal shipments being sent to Dainton, with one to be picked up by a “third party.”

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Ms Menary said: “He sent the defendant an image of a footstool with the comment ‘you sneaky man.’”

Dainton was found to have been linked to eight litres of the Class A drug Methylamphetamine and 7KG of cannabis, worth a combined total of £150,000.

Ms Menary said that Dainton had also been caught in his car with a set of scales containing cocaine residue and messages on his phone suggesting the supply of cocaine.

These included messages like “you got any sniff?” and “can you get me any coke?”

Dainton had also enlisted the help of his ex-Paratrooper brother Alan Bolton, 43, and 29-year-old Qasim Shabaz in a conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Ms Menary said that Shabaz had asked for a “50/50 split”, while Bolton had been working “as a courier” under Dainton’s direction.

She said that after a house search police found the eight litres of Methylamphetamine stored in Prime bottles while a car search uncovered around £400 in cash with other drug paraphernalia.

Dainton, of Kent Close, Bolton, eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Class A drugs and conspiracy to import Class B drugs.

He also admitted to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, conspiracy to supply Class B drugs, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property.

Shahbaz, of Spa Road, and Bolton, of Lindfield Drive, Halliwell, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.

Bob Sastry, defending Dainton, said that he had been led into his criminal ways after building up “huge debts which he had to pay off” and by needing to fund his own habit.

He said that he had made a “foolish choice” but had already been working to rehabilitate himself while on remand in prison.

David Bentley, for Shahbaz, pointed to a range of references showing the community and charity work he had been involved in.

He said that though he had been involved in discussions, there was no evidence of him actually supplying cannabis and that Shahbaz had done a university course in business management.

Mr Bentley said: “But as often happens, the evils of drugs sets in and set people on a very different course that they had planned.”

Paul Hodgkinson, for Bolton, said that he had been paid as little as £150 in total for three jobs as a courier.

He told the court that Bolton had said: “I can’t believe I’m risking prison for a total of £50 a job.”

Mr Hodgkinson also told the court about Bolton’s military background.

He said: “He was a Para, he spent seven years in the Parachute Regiment, he served in Northern Ireland, he served in Afghanistan.”

District Judge Richard Clews noted all these points but reminded the men in the dock of the seriousness of their crimes.

Addressing Dainton, he said: “Plainly you have spent a considerable amount of time and effort organising and taking part in the importation and supply of controlled drugs of Class A and Class B.”

He said that Dainton had made “many trips to North America at significant expense” as part of the plot.

Judge Clews jailed Dainton, who has seven previous convictions for 10 offences, for eight years.

Turning to Shahbaz, who has two previous convictions for five offences, he accepted he had shown some remorse and noted the testimonials in his favour.

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Judge Clews sentencing him to nine months in prison.

He also accepted Bolton, who has 12 previous convictions for 23 offences, had been acting under his brother’s direction.

But Judge Clews noted that his defence would have been stronger if he engaged with probation “as you should have done.”

He jailed Bolton for 10 months, but in both his and Shahbaz’s cases noted they were likely to have served the equivalent of their sentences already.

Judge Clews ordered that all three be brought back before the court for a proceeds of crime act hearing on Tuesday December 17.