Nine people have been jailed for total of more than 80 years after police stopped their Breaking Bad' bid to flood the region with the drug meth.

A 78-year-old man with ambitions to create a regional crystal meths production line is facing a future  behind bars after he was convicted at Bristol Crown Court on Monday.

The ambitious plan would also have seen streets of the South West flooded with thousands of ecstasy pills with a street value of hundreds of thousands of pounds. 

George Rogers was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture and supply Class A and B drugs and jailed for 18 years following a successful operation by Zephyr, the South West’s regional and organised crime unit. 

Eight co-defendants face a total of 66 years behind bars after they were also convicted during the 13-week trial. 

Rogers’ audacious plan to set up a South West production centre for crystal meths  was just one step from becoming reality – the police stepping in to make arrests and prevent production from starting for safety reasons. 

The trial heard that Rogers - who was the mastermind behind the plan – had teamed up with David Nash,  a self-taught chemist from Redcliffe, who then drove the project, sourcing the required chemicals from the continent and setting up sophisticated laboratory equipment. Police had been unable to confirm he was a qualified chemist. 

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News:

(L - R) George Rogers with David Nash and Harish Chander

Crystal methamphetamine is popular in America but fairly uncommon in the UK and Rogers saw a potential market in the South West.  It is an amphetamine derivative, which is powerful and a highly addictive Class A drug. 

The ambitious plan envisaged production of around 20,000 ecstasy pills an hour. 

The police investigation intensified as intelligence was gathered. There was concern because the manufacturing process for crystal meth is extremely volatile and there is always a risk of an explosion. It was this threat that forced the hand of Zephyr investigators to take action. 

Rogers’ audacious plan was conceived in prison and once he was released Zephyr detectives began building a case against him, as intelligence revealed planning meetings were being held in Bristol and further afield. One meeting took place at the Reading service area on the M4. 

Financing of the operation began in earnest in December 2013, which involved businessmen acting illegally to raise funds. 

DI Jim Taylor said: “The whole operation had striking similarities to the popular American crime drama series ‘Breaking Bad,’ which featured a struggling high school chemistry teacher as the main character. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer and turned to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family’s financial future, before he died. 

“Rogers was an elderly career criminal, reputedly with poor health, who was looking to set up a drugs empire in the south west, taking advantage of those with a drugs problem. His intention to introduce a new but highly addictive drug in the South West, could have had a significant impact on our communities.  In areas where methamphetamine is a problem, there is clear evidence of a rise in acquisitive crimes such as burglaries and robberies. These crimes affect people’s quality of life and increase fear of personal safety.

“This was a highly successful operation involving Zephyr detectives working in collaboration with Avon and Somerset Safer Neighbourhood Teams, West Midlands Police, the National Crime Agency and Bedfordshire Police. 

“We are extremely pleased with the result at court which demonstrates that illegal activity - specifically production of drugs - will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly. We hope this will send out a strong message to others who have ideas of getting involved in drug activity,” said DI Taylor. 

At the end of the trial the trial judge HHJ Ambrose, awarded Crown Court Commendations to DS Nick Eckland, DC Jeanette Ferris, PC Sarah Scott, PC Luke Turner and analyst Lucy Hamilton for their work in the investigation.

Sentencing details:

George Rogers, of Bath Road/Long Fox Manor, Brislington, convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA (ecstasy) methamphetamine, amphetamine and conspiracy to supply cocaine and jailed for 18 years.

Harish Chander, of 2 Monmouth Drive, West Bromwich, West Midlands, convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA (ecstasy) and amphetamine and conspiracy to supply cocaine and fces 12 years behind bars.

David Nash, of Somerset Street, Redcliffe, Bristol, convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA (ecstasy), methamphetamine and amphetamine and was jailed for 11 years.

Gary Gooda, of The Haylocks, Shefford, Bedfordshire was convicted of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine and amphetamine but found not guilty of conspiracy to produce MDMA (ecstasy) and was jailed for 11 years 4months.

Steven Williams, of Hungerford Road, Brislington, Bristol, convicted of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine and received a seven year sentence.

Popinder Kandola, of Walsall, West Midlands, convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA (ecstasy) and amphetamine was jailed for seven years.

Karl Thomas, of Howard Street, Gloucester, who was convicted of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine was jailed for eight and a half years.

Wojchech Kolodziejcski, of West Bromwich, West Midlands, was convicted of conspiracy to produce amphetamine and faces four years in jail. 

Ryan Kelly, of Speedwell Road, Bristol, admitted at a previous hearing, conspiracy to supply cocaine and has been jailed for five years.