Marbella gangster caught as bungling mum detonates grenade and blows up barmaid's home

Liam Cornett, Michael Rice and Kieran Eves controlled a sprawling drug network and empire that ran wide from the Costa del Sol to estates in Hull, Cardiff and Devon

The collapse of a global drug syndicate helmed by one of Liverpool's most infamous modern-day crooks, Liam Cornett, was triggered when a mum unwittingly detonated a DIY grenade next to a stash of amphetamine.

The international drug lord lived it up in Marbella and Monte Carlo, raking in vast sums from a venture that spread anguish through Merseyside and beyond. Dubbed "the Lam", he orchestrated an extensive network that stretched from his Costa del Sol headquarters to communities in Hull, Cardiff and Devon. His infamy and global criminal ties were so significant that Liverpool's streets were brought to a standstill by an armed prison escort whenever he was ferried to court.

Cornett, who owned a home in Huyton but oversaw a realm that spanned from Anfield to Africa, masterminded the smuggling of narcotics into the UK, which were then funnelled throughout England and Wales. His accomplices, Michael Rice and Kieran Eves, were instrumental in establishing supply routes to other urban centres.

Their merciless enterprise at times involved partnerships with fellow lawbreakers; other times, they brazenly commandeered territories far from their Merseyside roots. It's rumoured that Cornett had such a solid footing in the underworld that he mingled with the Kinahan Cartel, a notorious Dublin gang, acting as their go-to guy in Liverpool.

The downfall of Cornett's notorious crime syndicate was triggered by two infamous events that shook Liverpool's criminal landscape. Diving into Merseyside's nefarious past, the ECHO has delved into the saga of the Cornett gang and the dramatic episodes that led to its unravelling, reports the Liverpool Echo.

A blast rocked Dingle's streets

On an eventful night, March 25, 2017 - coinciding with the New Ferry explosion - a loud bang summoned police to Beresford Road in Dingle. They arrived to discover a grenade had unexpectedly exploded inside a terraced house as barmaid and cleaner Tina Knight was gearing up for a night out, having tumbled from a wardrobe.

Miraculously, there were no casualties, but the incident exposed over 150kg of class B drug amphetamine and a kilo of cocaine, worth an estimated £1.6million. The stash was found wrapped in foil inside a bin liner, accompanied by a brown substance suspected to be a cutting agent.

Knight, who later received a three-year prison sentence, claimed she had no intention of profiting from the narcotics, stating she merely "allowed my premises to store what turned out to be amphetamines". In the aftermath, the pressing question for law enforcement was: who owned the drugs?

The investigation that ensued had ripple effects across Europe, with intel from the probe leading Spanish coppers to bust a cannabis-growing syndicate in Alicante, Malaga, and Barcelona two months on. By July 2017, four months post the Dingle blast, UK sleuths focussed on kingpin Cornett.

Operation Anvil

In that very month, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) kicked off one of its most ambitious stings - Operation Anvil. The mission was to take down Cornett and his main man Rice.

These blokes were already running lucrative drug lines in Liverpool and Hull, but as the coppers observed, they were branching out to south Wales and England's south coast with county lines-style schemes.

Rather than flogging their stash wholesale, this mob ran a "high volume, centrally organised 'high street' operation" that kept the cash rolling in by keeping a tight grip on the gear. But these lads were no strangers to switching up their game plan when needed, like in Exeter where they buddied up with a local drug baron instead of muscling in on his patch.

Cornett found himself in a Dutch prison for nine days in July 2017 after attending a music festival. His phone calls from behind bars were recorded, including a directive to Rice that operations should "stand still" until he was freed.

Despite residing near Marbella in Spain, Cornett spent several months in the UK post-release, supervising the growth of his empire.

'Good quality and in plentiful supply'

In August, Cornett and Rice rendezvoused with criminals in Cardiff, striking a deal to distribute amphetamines in the region. The inaugural courier run took place just two days post this high-level meeting.

Less than two weeks later, Cornett and an accomplice named Ryan Perry made their way to Devon.

Luke Stelfox trailed them by train - investigators suspecting he was transporting drug samples on behalf of Cornett, who wouldn't risk being caught with the merchandise he was peddling. Once there, Cornett met with Plymouth's notorious Darryl Clough, negotiating a partnership that would see Cornett supplying drugs to Clough's existing network.

They met Stelfox in Torquay where the graft phone line operating in Exeter, where the Liverpool crew headed the following day, was activated. Henry Riding, a barrister involved in two trials linked to the gang, characterised their modus operandi as "put simply, they moved into the area and straightaway dominated the market by giving out free samples and by undercutting the prices of local suppliers".

He further revealed that the gang's narcotics were of "were good quality and in plentiful supply". In its debut week, the Exeter graft phone was bombarded with 1,105 calls, while over a three-month period, the Liverpool line - which peddled drugs around Breck Road, received a staggering 17,000 calls.

This success translated into serious dough for those at the helm.

In September, Cornett splashed out on an Audi RS3 costing £53,000, paying for it in cold hard cash. Cornett and Rice enjoyed a lavish holiday together in Monte Carlo, where they cruised around in a convertible Bentley and took to the skies in a helicopter.

However, the network did face some hiccups, such as in October of that year when the Cardiff line shut down after a group of crooks failed to cough up the money for some of the dispatched drugs.

This resulted in the drugs being retrieved from the Welsh capital following a cat-and-mouse chase between the Liverpool and Cardiff associates, with those at the top of the Cardiff chain seemingly deliberately dodging the Merseyside men sent down to sort out the issue.

Nonetheless, massive amounts of money were still rolling back to Cornett. Proof of this surfaced in November when one of his associates, Nicholas Corner, had his suitcase inspected before a flight out of John Lennon Airport.

His intended destination was believed to be Cornett, who was holed up at a boutique hotel in Marbella.

Armed police surround Audi

Police were suspicious of Cornett's gang. They acted as a stash of amphetamines was being exchanged in the car park of Belle Vale McDonald's, while Anvil detectives were also liaising with their accomplices in Devon and Cornwall.

The scale of the surveillance became crystal clear when they nabbed Cornett's right-hand man Rice off the streets.

Armed officers nicked him at about 1pm as they halted the Audi he was in on Smithdown Road on December 4, 2017. Jaw-dropping footage showed machine-gun-toting coppers swarming Rice after police motors trapped his Audi.

Rice and two other blokes were collared and the motor was turned over - unearthing a Glock handgun.

The semi-automatic was cocked, loaded, and hidden with four mags of ammo and a gun cleaning kit. The Old Bill had been tailing Rice for four hours, eyeballing him doing everyday "mundane" bits and bobs before he collected the shooter from a gaff in Toxteth.

He was slung into the slammer and later got six years for having a banned firearm and bullets. Rice getting pinched meant a reshuffle in the drug-dealing racket.

Cornett stayed as the big cheese but was pretty much hands-off now. With Rice, the geezer running the show day-to-day, out of the picture, new faces had to step up and get in on the action.

Clough, a key player in the south coast operation, was nabbed in May of that year following a gruesome gangland assault where he and two accomplices held a drug client captive, broke one of his fingers, and then tossed him into a river. When the police got wind of Cornett's return to the UK in October 2018, they felt they had enough evidence to act.

Armed cops cordoned off streets

The police had amassed sufficient evidence to secure a European arrest warrant for him. However, before this could be finalised, they received a tip-off that he was landing at Manchester Airport and decided they couldn't pass up this golden opportunity to apprehend him.

At the time of his arrest, he was sporting a Rolex watch worth a cool £58,000. The subsequent December, a crackdown dubbed Operation Valkyrie led to raids that dismantled his network.

Cornett faced trial from May to August of 2019.

Due to his notorious reputation, Liam Cornett required an armed police escort between HMP Manchester and Liverpool Crown Court, resulting in road closures throughout the trial. Cornett was eventually convicted of conspiring to supply class A and B drugs.

Although linked to an address in Huyton during his UK stay, he wasn't directly accused of smuggling or cannabis-related charges. Nevertheless, during his sentencing, Mr Riding stated: "Liam Cornett has a home in Spain. It is common ground that for a number of years he has been involved in criminal activity in Spain, including the organisation of importations of controlled drugs into the UK and Holland from Spain and North Africa."

Mr Riding further pointed out that Cornett's self-confessed crimes involved class B drugs only and that he had arranged these transactions for his own benefit and on behalf of other crime syndicates. Although not currently charged with the above crimes, these details were brought up to contextualize the case.

He said: "It explains his lifestyle and the nature of his involvement in the present conspiracies. The evidence shows that he was involved in the operations at a senior level, for example recruiting other organisers to the organised crime group, organising their deployment and negotiating with other criminal groups such as those in Plymouth, Torquay and Cardiff."

"He didn't need to be in the UK full time because his role was more strategic. [And] It confirms that he is a sophisticated and experienced criminal who is well-versed in the techniques of drug supply."

Cornett was eventually slapped with a 26-year prison sentence and will face severe restrictions on his access to cash and connections under a serious crime prevention order upon his release.

Rice, previously of Moses Street in Dingle, received a sentence of 12 years and eight months, which will run concurrently with his six-year term for possession of the Glock. Eves, from Carriage Close in Hale, another key organiser, ranked just below Rice in the pecking order and was handed a total sentence of 13 years and nine months.

Other high-ranking members included Craig Gowland, of Corn Street in Dingle, who was locked up for 17 years and four months; Carl Maddocks, of South Hill Road in Dingle, who got a 10-year and eight-month sentence; Bobby Hill, of no fixed address, who was put behind bars for eight years and eight months; and Daryl Clough, of Manifold Gardens, who was sentenced to 12 years.

All told, 26 individuals were imprisoned following two trials, resulting in a combined total of over 200 years behind bars.

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