Mastermind behind breaking-bad style Redditch drugs lab jailed

The drugs lab near Redditch could produce 400 kilos of amphetamine per month, worth £2 million at wholesale and up to £10 million at street level.

The drugs were distributed to dealers in the West Midlands, London and Kent.

National Crime Agency investigators identified encrypted messaging platform EncroChat was being used to run the lab.

Leader John Keet, 42, of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, invested profits from a career dealing cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines into building and managing the lab.

He 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, 52, of Quinton, Birmingham, known as ‘The Geek’ due to his specialist electrical installation and plumbing skills, converted what had been a double garage outbuilding into the drugs lab.

Gurney also received the same chemistry training as Davis.

Keith Davis and Andrew Gurney. (Image: National Crime Agency.)

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

Keet pleaded guilty to all the charges during an earlier hearing at Kingston Crown Court , and was jailed for 18 years at the same court on May 10,

NCA branch commander Matt McMillan said: “John Keet was the mastermind behind this operation and created one of the largest drugs factories ever found in the UK.

“He even paid for crime group members to undertake chemistry training, so that the drugs produced yielded the highest profit possible.

“These drugs were being supplied to other crime groups, and will have fuelled violence, fear and exploitation in communities across the UK.

“By closing down this lab and dismantling this crime group, the NCA and its partners have protected the public.”

The lab on Ullenhall Lane, Henley-in-Arden was raided by NCA officers on April 27, 2021, following weeks of surveillance.

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. Waste products from the production process, which had been flushed into the sewerage system, had also contaminated a nearby field.

The gang members were all arrested on suspicion of drug offences at their home addresses on the same day the factory was raided.

Davis and Gurney were convicted on June 8 last year, following a 12-day trial, and jailed for five years and six years and three months respectively on June 10.

At a hearing on September 21, the Court of Appeal ruled that the previous sentences were unduly lenient, and a Judge increased them to 10 years each.

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