World · Europe · 1 hr ago
Former Liverpool council official jailed for helping cannabis gang
Former Liverpool council official Alan Hunter was jailed for three years for helping a criminal network operate cannabis farms.
The 57-year-old street works manager sent fake permits to gang members so bogus road crews could dig up roads without attracting suspicion.
In return, he received more than £20,000, and he pleaded guilty to offences including misconduct in public office.
The crews used the permits to divert electricity from underground cables to cannabis farms run by Albanian gangs.
Investigators linked the wider operation to at least £21 million worth of drugs, with activity across 32 police force areas and 100 farms.
Three other men were also jailed, following earlier prison sentences for eight men involved in the network.
Former Liverpool city council street works manager Alan Hunter was jailed for three years for helping a gang use fake roadworks permits to support cannabis farms.
Hunter, 57, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make items used in fraud, misconduct in a public office and use of criminal property.
He sent fake Section 50 permits to a gang member via WhatsApp in exchange for payment.
The permits helped workmen posing as utility crews divert electricity from underground cables to cannabis farms.
The wider operation involved at least four years, 32 police force areas and 100 cannabis farms, investigators said.
- Who
- Alan Hunter, a former Liverpool city council street works manager, and three other men were sentenced.
- What
- Hunter was jailed for three years for helping a gang use fake permits to support cannabis farms. The other three men received sentences totaling almost nine years.
- When
- Hunter was jailed on Tuesday; the article was published on 11 November 2026.
- Where
- Liverpool Crown Court. The wider investigation covered England, Scotland and Wales.
- Why
- Hunter supplied fake roadworks permits to help workmen divert electricity to cannabis farms in exchange for payment.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Police in North Wales found £1.2 million-worth of cannabis plants in an abandoned shop on Bangor High Street.
Eight men were jailed for nearly three decades for their roles in the wider operation.
Hunter and three other men were sentenced; Hunter received three years in prison.
- Hunter's sentence
- Three years in prison
- Hunter's age
- 57
- Payment
- More than £20,000
- Wider operation
- At least four years, 32 police force areas and 100 cannabis farms
- Estimated drug value
- At least £21 million
- Found in Bangor
- £1.2 million-worth of cannabis plants
What people are saying
Hopefully I've covered my tracks good enough on that otherwise I'll get sacked.