37 offenders jailed for more than 90 years in 2025 thanks to Northwich Proactive CID

Northwich Proactive CID is celebrating another successful year after helping to bring to justice 37 offenders who have been jailed for more than 90 years.

The unit is based at Northwich Police Station and consists of three police constables, two detective constables and one detective sergeant.

Between them, the team is responsible for investigating burglaries, thefts, vehicle crime and drugs offences within Northwich Local Policing Unit, which includes Northwich, Winsford, Tarporley and the surrounding villages. 

Despite only being a small unit, the team have been punching well above their weight, and over the past year they have convicted 37 offenders who have been jailed for a total of 93 years.

Their success began in January when Northwich criminal Jonathon Maddock was jailed for 54 months after he admitted three burglaries in the town. 

Meanwhile, in June, Samuel Watts was jailed for four years and four months after he was caught dealing drugs from his prison cell in Lancashire. The 34-year-old, of Thornley Green, Northwich, was arrested by officers from Northwich Proactive CID as he left HMP Kirkham following his release for his previous offences, dealing Class A drugs, which the team had investigated previously and resulted in his original prison sentence.

Over in Winsford, the team also managed the case of Alfie Drummond who was sentenced to 32 months in prison after he admitted being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs (cocaine) and two counts of possession of offensive weapons. The 23-year-old, of School Road, Wharton, wasn’t the brightest criminal, filming himself handling large amounts of illegal drugs, weapons, and cash on his mobile phone.

The team were also responsible for the conviction of Gary Clifton, a prolific offender from Manchester, who was jailed for more than eight years after he was convicted of 11 counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary and two counts of theft in the Northwich area.

Another Winford case resulted in the convictions of Iain Alexander, Helen Reynolds, Archie Kettle and Leonard Hunter, who were sentenced to over 17 years in prison after they admitted being members of a county lines gang who were dealing Class A drugs in the town. 

In July, the team brought down an organised crime group - Thomas, Edward and Christopher Stokes - responsible for theft from motor vehicle offences, resulting in a loss of approximately £65,000 worth of tools from hard working members of the public.

Their offending spanned across the North West of the country, with the team at Northwich pursuing offences in North Wales and Greater Manchester, as well as the offences in Chester, Northwich, Winsford and Tarporley. Five stolen caravans were also recovered during the investigation. The trio were subsequently sentenced in November to a combined total in excess of eight years in prison. 

In addition to their own cases, the team often support colleagues with the hunt for wanted offenders. A recent example of this work came in September 2025, when members of the team travelled over 150 miles to Bristol, to help locate Jamie Grudger who was wanted by Northwich Reactive CID for domestic abuse offences. Thanks to the investigation conducted by the team in Bristol, Grudger was located and arrested in a hotel in the city centre. He has since been jailed for more than five years. 

Following the successful year Detective Sergeant John Lyons, who leads the team at Northwich Proactive CID said, said:

“I’m truly proud of the results we’ve achieved over the past 12 months, and I hope that they provide reassurance to the local community.

“The team here at Northwich are committed to doing all that we can to make our communities safer and I would like to thank all the officers for their dedication, often going above and beyond what is expected of them.

“As a geographical area, Northwich sits between Manchester and Liverpool, which means we’re targeted by offenders from outside the area who think that it’s an easy place to target. However, as these results demonstrate, this is simply not the case.

“Of the 37 offenders we have jailed in the past year, 13 of them were from outside the area and between them they are now in prison for more than 35 years.

“While these offenders are now behind bars, our fight against criminals continues and I would appeal to anyone who has any information about illegal activity taking place in their communities to contact us on 101, or at www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us , and we will do the rest.”

Chief Inspector Leeroy Moss, head of Northwich Local Policing unit added:

“It’s great to recognise some of the work that Northwich Proactive CID has done over the past year, and I’d like to thank all the officers involved.

“Cheshire Constabulary was recently rated as one of the top forces in the county following the latest inspection by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, and the team here played a key role in helping to achieve this ranking.

“Thanks to their work, along with the work of the rest of the team at Northwich, we have some of the highest charge rates for acquisitive crime, and the area is often seen as a no-go area for drugs offenders, due to the reputation we have garnered amongst the criminal community.

“Moving forward to the new year, we’re already planning a number of operations and have more offenders currently on remand awaiting sentence in January 2026, and others who will be sentenced later into the year. My advice to any criminals in the local area is watch your back, as you never know when we’ll be knocking down your door.”

Below is a list of the 34 offenders who have been jailed in the past year thanks to the work of the team at Northwich Proactive CID:

• Richard Ennis - 12 months - Burglary and fraud offences – 14 January
• Paul Slicher - 2 years - Class A drug supply – 7 February
• Kane Farghaly - 4 years 2 months - Class A drug supply – 7 February
• Matthew Tyrer - 4 months - Burglary offences – 7 February
• Gary Bloor - 6 months - Burglary offences – 5 April
• Kirsty Watson - 2 years 4 months - Class A, B & C drug supply offences – 25 April
• Jonathon Maddock - 4 years 6 months - Burglary offences – 29 April
• Michael Acton - 4 months - Burglary offences – 12 May
• Bradley Higham - 4 years 4 months - Burglary, theft, and fraud offences - 28 May
• Masum Alom - 9 months - Burglary offences – 3 June
• Mohammed Alam - 8 months - Burglary offences – 3 June
• Samuel Watts - 4 years 4 months - Class A drug supply – 5 June
• Alfie Walls - 2 years 9 months - Class A drug supply – 6 June
• Simon Jones - 2 years 8 months - Class A drug supply - 9 June
• Tony Bloor - 7 days - Burglary offences - 18 June
• Archie Kettle - 2 years 6 months - Class A drug supply - 20 June
• Leonard Hunter - 2 years 6 months - Class A drug supply - 20 June
• Gareth Jones - 4 months - Burglary offences - 4 July
• Iain Alexander - 7yrs - Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs – 26 August
• Helen Reynolds - 5yrs 3 months - Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs - 26 August
• Jonathon Heron - 6 months - Burglary offences - 4 September
• David McElligott - 9 months - Burglary offences – 11 September
• Ben Gibney - 12 months - Burglary and theft offences – 17 September
• Alfie Drummond - 2 years 8 months - Class A drug supply – 30 September
• Harvey Smallwood - 5yrs 10 months - Burglary offences – 17 October
• Luke Faulkner-Ellis - 5yrs - Burglary offences – 17 October
• Mark Jones - 5yrs 10 months - Burglary offences – 17 October
• Christopher Stokes - 1 years 8 months - Conspiracy to commit theft - 6 November
• Edward Stokes - 3 years 6 months - Conspiracy to commit theft - 6 November
• Thomas Stokes - 3 years 4 months - Conspiracy to commit theft - 6 November
• Wayne Hassall - 2 years 4 months - Sexual Assault – 10 November
• Gary Clifton - 8 years - Burglary and theft offences – 11 November
• Robin Vaughan - 3yrs - Conspiracy to commit burglary – 11 November
• Lee Dunne - 1 year 3 months - Class A drug supply – 22 December

These offenders were given non-custodial sentences: 

• Joshua Wilson - Community order - Burglary offence – 3 June
• Josh Shaw - 3-year community order - Class A drug supply – 26 August
• Charlie Moore - 1 year community order - Class B drug supply – 23 September