Two jailed for running Breaking Bad-style drugs lab in south Warwickshire

TWO members of an organised crime gang have been jailed for running an amphetamine factory near Henley – one of the largest ever found in the UK.

Four men were arrested after the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Warwickshire Police raided the farm buildings on Ullenhall Lane, between Henley and Redditch, on 27th April last year saying the industrial-scale drugs laboratory was capable of producing £10m of amphetamine a month.

Encrypted messages were found by investigators, leading them to the laboratory which made drugs for distribution to dealers in the West Midlands, London and Kent.

The NCA said the ringleader John Keet, 41, of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, invested profits from a career dealing cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines into building and managing the lab.

He even paid for his right-hand man, Keith Davis, 62, also of Chalfont St Giles, to undergo chemistry training to enable him to operate the site.

Andrew Gurney, 51, of Quinton, Birmingham, known as ‘The Geek’ due to his specialist electrical installation and plumbing skills, converted the outbuilding into the drugs lab.

Gurney also received the same chemistry training as Davis.

The fourth member, Elliott Walker, 49, of Kidbrooke, south London, was an associate of Keet and purchased specialist equipment for the lab.

On Friday (10th June) at Kingston Crown Court, Davis was jailed for five years and three months and Gurney for six years and three months.

Davis was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs (cannabis and ketamine), conspiracy to produce Class B drugs (amphetamine) and money laundering.

Gurney was convicted of conspiracy to produce amphetamine and money laundering.

Both were convicted on Tuesday (8th June) following a 12-day trial.

Keet previously pleaded guilty one count of conspiracy to produce a Class B drug (ketamine), one count of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs (cocaine), two counts of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs (ketamine and cannabis), one count of conspiracy to import Class B drugs (cannabis) and one count of conspiracy to conceal, convert of transfer criminal property.

He will be sentenced in August.

Walker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce class B drugs (amphetamine) on 17th September last year and was jailed for six years on 14th December.

A fifth defendant, Bartosz Kaminski, of Ullenhall Lane, Henley, pleaded guilty to possession of CS spray but was found not guilty of drugs offences. He was given a £100 fine for the CS spray offence.

The NCA said work started on the laboratory in March 2020 and it began producing drugs in May of that year. The gang initially bought amphetamine pre-cursor chemical benzyl methyl ketone (BMK) but quickly realised it was more profitable to make it themselves.

Plumes of noxious fumes billowed from the outbuilding when it was opened by specialist crews from West Midlands Fire Service, who had to wait several hours before searching it due to the hazardous chemicals inside.

NCA branch commander Matt McMillan said: “Keith Davis and Andrew Gurney had key roles in running one of the largest drugs laboratories ever found in the UK.

“Under the direction of John Keet, they meticulously planned this criminal enterprise – even undergoing chemistry training to run the laboratory.

“The drugs produced will have fuelled violence, fear and exploitation in communities across the UK.

“Closing down this lab is a great example of multi-agency cooperation to protect the public.”