TWO men from Trafford ­have been jailed for their part of an organised crime network who distributed drugs across Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

It followed an investigation codenamed Operation Friction which was led by GMP’s serious organised crime group, which investigated the activities of those involved in the supply of Class A and Class B drugs across the two regions.

Manchester Crown Court heard that throughout the course of the investigation, police seized more than five kilograms of cocaine and heroin and almost £250,000 in cash.

Rio Haughton, 30, of Skerton Road, Stretford, was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering.

Tyrone Carter Spence, 22, of Great Stone Road, Stretford, was jailed for 30 months after pleading guilty to money laundering.

The network unravelled in September this year after key players were identified. Almost £88,000 was seized from Carter-Spencer after he was stopped at Junction 14 on the M6 by the police.

Detective Inspector Tony Norman, of GMP’s Serious and Organised Crime Group, said: “This was a meticulous operation that remains ongoing but we have been able to bring 14 people to justice over the past few days.

“Hopefully this goes some way to illustrating how serious we are in our efforts to remove drugs from our streets.

“I hope that today’s sentence serves as a message that we will continue to target organised crime networks and are committed to finding those who seek to infiltrate our communities with drugs. These people profit from the misery of others and their illicit activities must be stopped.”