Gym owner’s £2m drug plot revealed after police bust on M56

Huge quantities of steroids found in containers

A gym owner and doorman’s huge drugs conspiracy came to light after police arrested one of them on the M56. Lee Ablitt, of Hoy Drive, Newton-le-Willows, was stopped by officers on the highway for being a disqualified driver in October 2021.

When police searched the 51-year-old’s car they found several boxes of class C drugs. Police carried out further inquiries which led to the discovery of two storage containers in Rhyl, registered to of Ablitt, where a significant quantity of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs were discovered along with a large quantity of cash.

Prosecutor Sion ap Mihangel said that in one of these storage containers in Rhyl, police found £483,968 in cash in a suitcase. Ablitt’s DNA was on the suitcase, NorthWalesLive reports.

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Data recovered from Ablitt’s phone revealed Christopher Thompson, 49, from Wigan, was also involved in the criminal enterprise, with Thompson sending Ablitt lists of drugs requested by customers. In December 2021, detectives searched Thompson’s home, where he was found surrounded by packages of steroids, addressed to various addresses throughout the country.

A police drugs expert put the value of the seized drugs at between £1.59 million and £2.1 million. Ablitt said he began bodybuilding when he was a teenager and began taking steroids in bulk – along with others to spread the cost – and they were then supplied on demand.

Robert Kearney, defending Ablitt, said it was a sad story. His client had started bodybuilding as a teenager, but became addicted to steroids. He said he looked physically strong, but had issues with diabetes, body shape and self-confidence.

Keith Harrison, defending Thompson, said he worked hard with two jobs in the security sector and bitterly regretted being involved in the offences. Judge His Honor Rhys Rowlands said there had been “industrial” quantities of steroids. He told the men: “Steroids pose a real risk to people’s health. You were aware of this, but to make money you both engaged in this business.”

He jailed Ablitt for five years for conspiracy to supply a Class C controlled drug. The judge jailed Thompson, of Scott Lane, Wigan, for 33 months for the same offence. Both men also admitted using, acquiring or possessing criminal property, but no separate penalties were provided for these offences.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Chris Wynne of the force’s Central Priority Crime Team said: “This was a sophisticated operation, which was carried out over a four-year period. Clearly, the conspiracy was so financially lucrative that they possessed more drugs than they could physically sell. quite quickly.

“This investigation alone involved over 40 different drugs and, more importantly, for steroid users, some samples labeled as containing a specific steroid contained different drugs, highlighting the uncertain and dangerous risk of these illicit products .”