Alone I Keep the Wolves at Bay

Mr Bounce wrote:I reckon Edison Miranda is probably a bit of a "fight anyone because he can" throwback kind of guy. Sure, he's limited and a bit past his best but when he was at Middleweight he wasn't afraid to take on anyone.

Spoiler:

A BOXER at the heart of a city drugs and counterfeiting gang is today starting a nine-year prison sentence.

Tony Booth, 41, was jailed along with six other men, including former Timber Dock landlord George Rowley, chef Christopher Coles and former drugs mentor Peter Brook, for a combined total of almost 30 years.

Police caught the men after launching an undercover sting known as Operation Beech into the supply of cocaine and ecstasy and the passing of counterfeit money in the area.

The gang had operated from the Timber Dock pub in Victoria Dock, east Hull, with Booth at the heart of the gang.

Booth, who had 166 professional fights during his 18-year career, was described as a "lieutenant".

He was "pivotal" to introducing all the other defendants to each other and used contacts he had made throughout his boxing career to obtain drugs and counterfeit currency for his co-accused.

Prosecutor Nick Adlington said: "Booth was a lieutenant, the right-hand man, to those at the top of the tree. All the others were subordinates and played minor roles."

Undercover officers were supplied with £20,320 of cocaine and £12,000 in counterfeit euros throughout a seven-month investigation.

Detective Superintendent Christine Kelk, who led Operation Beech, said: "They were one of the most prolific crime groups operating in the city.

"It was a highly successful operation. I'm immensely pleased with their sentences.

"They are serious and organised criminals who have made a significant amount of money out of drugs and we will now be going after their assets. We only recovered the drugs which were sold to undercover officers. I expect the real amount of drugs was triple that amount."

Booth, who still holds the record for the greatest number of wins in the ring, claimed he committed the offences for financial reasons.

His barrister, Stephen Garth, said: "He had a glamorous early life, but fell upon hard times and got himself involved in this serious offending.

"Because of his finances, he succumbed to temptation and got drawn into this culture of crime.

"He describes himself as a 'middle man'. He doesn't deny that he was a major cog in what was going on.

"He was the person in the middle between those at the pub and the unscrupulous contacts he had made throughout his career.

"He estimates his gain was no more than £1,200."

The honorary Recorder of Hull and the East Riding, Judge Michael Mettyear, sentenced the seven men to a total of 29 years and eight months' imprisonment.

He said: "A common feature binding all of you is the Timber Dock pub, where there was quite clearly a culture of crime operating and that must have been very well known.

"Crimes concerned the supply of class A drugs and counterfeit currency. Class A drugs ruin the lives of those who take them and so often cause people to commit crimes. Communities are wrecked by drug-users and that's why long sentences are imposed on those who get involved in this sort of filthy trade."

He told Booth: "You were very much up for whatever part you could play in the supply of drugs.

"It is quite clear you have had a mixed life. You have had ups and downs.

"You were a professional boxer and have found yourself on hard times to some degree.

"You had a comparatively good life when you enjoyed making money from boxing and it made you want to do what you could to maintain that lifestyle.

"Unfortunately, that desire led you into this life of crime."

The Timber Dock pub is still closed, but is due to reopen under new management.