Oldham woman jailed for role in £1 million drugs import from Jamaica

An Oldham woman has been jailed for her role in a £1 million drugs plot that saw cocaine and other substances smuggled into the UK from Jamaica. Charlene Bellamy, 43, of Fairway Road, was sentenced to five years at Bolton Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.

The case was part of Operation Image, a two-year investigation by Greater Manchester Police that began when Border Force officers seized 8kg of high-purity cocaine from a flight arriving from Jamaica in March 2024. The drugs were destined for residential addresses across Greater Manchester.

In December 2025, police raids at properties in Gorton, Didsbury, and Stockport uncovered a further 4kg of cocaine, thousands of MDMA and 2CB tablets, a kilo of cannabis, and £100,000 in cash. The total street value of all drugs seized exceeded £1 million.

Six people were convicted in total, with sentences ranging from four to 19 years. Darren Bailey, 47, from Stockport, received the longest sentence of 19 years after being found guilty of multiple conspiracy charges. The group had attempted to cover their tracks by claiming money transfers to a deported Jamaican man were for buying goats, not drugs.

Detective Constable Ryan O'Hanlon said the operation had taken significant quantities of drugs off the streets, preventing the misery they cause in local communities. He praised the tireless work of officers who gathered evidence over two years to secure the convictions.