Chemical company boss and cleaning business director who set up drugs lab in rented Yorkshire farm buildings in 'best village in the north of England' are jailed

The drugs factory in Husthwaite, near Thirsk – whose community describes it as ‘the best village in the north of England’ – was raided by North Yorkshire Police in April 2020 after residents complained of a strong smell of chemicals emanating from the outbuildings and strange comings and goings.

Four men involved in the operation have now been jailed at Teesside Crown Court. During the raid, ‘chef’ Philip Lister and his brother-in-law Ryan Beer were arrested after being caught manufacturing amphetamine oil.

The gang were using EncroChat, the criminal messaging platform which has since been compromised, to communicate. Their messages led police to two businessmen – Stephen Henry Singleton, who ran a chemicals company in St Helens, and Jordan Russell Blackburn, who owned a cleaning solutions business in Leeds.

Singleton and Blackburn were directing operations while Lister and Beer produced the drugs. Lister was renting the rural property for £1,100 per month and had converted the outhouse into a chemical lab.

Singleton, 36, of Birkdale, Sefton; Blackburn, 34, of York Road, Leeds; and Beer, 30, of Chandos Mews, Gledhow, Leeds, were all found guilty by jury of conspiracy to produce amphetamine at Teesside Crown Court in December 2022.

They were jailed on January 13, but due to an outstanding court case involving Singleton in another area, reporting of the sentencing has been delayed.

Singleton was jailed for nine years and two months, Blackburn was jailed for eight years and nine months, and Beer was jailed for two years and four months.

Lister, 41, of Wykebeck Avenue, Osmandthorpe, Leeds was charged with conspiracy to produce amphetamine and money laundering. He pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.

Detective Constable Neil Borchardt said: “This was a significant criminal enterprise that was disrupted thanks to the suspicions of local people who were concerned about the constant activity at the property and the smell of chemicals emanating from the building.

“The gang used a criminally encrypted communication platform at a significant financial cost believing that they could use it to run their criminal activities safely; they were wrong. Along with local residents, and working with the National Crime Agency, North Yorkshire Police Organised Crime Unit was able to disrupt and bring this criminal gang to justice.”