Members of an organised crime group (OCG) have been ordered to pay back around £1.5 million, after supplying cannabis in Ellesmere Port and Chester.

A total of 16 men were sentenced at Chester Crown Court as part of Operation Heracles, between Monday 13 January and Wednesday 15 January 2025.

This was an investigation conducted by Cheshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) into the supply of cannabis in Ellesmere Port and Chester between 12 April 2023 and 7 March 2024.

At a hearing on Monday 12 January 2026, a judge ruled that a total of seven of the men benefited to the value of approximately £1.5 million each due to their criminal activities.

Between them, they must pay back the sum of £1,460,250 in total.

Individually, they must also pay back the following amounts on top of this, which have been calculated from assets which were seized when they were arrested and have been valued as follows:

• Kyle Phillips: £4,670
• Daniel Nield: £2,900.20
• Adam Jones: £6,000
• Garry Tushingham: £8,231.94
• Daniel Taylor: £34,000
• Aiden Johnson: £15,810
• Nathan Elliott: £6,271.63

A spokesperson for Cheshire Constabulary SOCU said: "Each of these men was unemployed with no legitimate income but clearly reaped the benefit of their criminal enterprise, indulging in money which was not lawfully earned.

"The seven men who have been ordered to pay back some of their ill-gotten gains were jailed for more than 40 years for their roles in the Operation Heracles case, so not only are they now behind bars, but they must also pay back almost £1.5 million between them.

"This is a great example of the lengths we will go to in order to target those who have profited from crime and ensure that when they are released from prison, they can no longer benefit from wealth earned through criminal means."