Man jailed over 'biggest ever' £17m ketamine haul

Paul Farrelly was "visibly nervous" when he was stopped by police in September

A Liverpool man caught with £17m of ketamine, a seizure of the drug described by police as the "one of the largest ever in the UK", has been jailed.

Paul Farrelly, 46, was described as "nervous" when his Volkswagen van was stopped by police on the East Lancashire Road in Norris Green, Liverpool, on 16 September.

Merseyside Police officers realised why when the rear of the vehicle was found to be stuffed with 35 sacks of the Class B drug, including 13 which had been hidden in a specially hollowed out stack of wooden kitchen counter-tops.

Farrelly was jailed for five years and four months at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting possession of ketamine with intent to supply.

Police found 35 sacks stuffed with 875kg of the Class B drug ketamine

The sacks were later found to contain a total of 875kg of the drug, which was first manufactured as a horse tranquiliser.

When abused, the drug can cause serious health problems including permanent bladder damage that can require lifelong treatment.

The court heard Farrelly answered no comment when interviewed and refused to hand over the pin code to three mobile phones seized from him.

Farrelly, of Redbank Close in Fazakerley, Liverpool, was arrested as part of a joint operation between Merseyside Police and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

However police said it was "unclear" how big the wider organised crime network was.

Paul Farrelly refused to hand over the pin code for three mobile phones after his arrest

The sentencing judge, Recorder Daniel Lister, said: "He must have been aware of the scale of the operation and must have known what was in the back of the van, even though he was the courier of the drugs, rather than the ringleader in this conspiracy."

After the sentencing Det Ch Insp Tony Roberts, from Merseyside Police, described ketamine as "an extremely dangerous drug."

He said: "What a lot of people don't realise is it can result in fatalities and we've seen a few here in the Northwest recently, really tragic cases.

"In addition to that it can have irreparable damage to your body."