A COURT has heard that a Walney man charged in connection with a huge drug trafficking plot plunged to his death on the day he was due to appear before a judge.

Steven Archer was one of two men from the Barrow area arrested after a car was stopped by police on the M6 near Kendal on June 4 last year.

He was charged with a cocaine supply allegation which he denied when he appeared before magistrates at Barrow.

The case was committed to Carlisle Crown Court, and on August 18 Mr Archer, aged 49, was due to appear before a judge.

When he failed to appear, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

However, it tragically emerged that Mr Archer had fallen to his death the same day from a multi-storey car park above The Forum in Barrow.

It was alleged that Mr Archer, previously of Ramsgate Crescent, Walney, had a role in a massive cocaine conspiracy.

Two men who also deny being involved in the plot have gone on trial at Carlisle Crown Court this week.

One is Jordan Azli Dominic Graham, 28, of Church Street, Barrow, and the other is John David Lawrence, 31, of St Helens.

Both have pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiring to supply the class A drug between April and September last year.

A jury has heard that "many other names" are listed on a charge sheet in connection with the criminal enterprise.

This was said to have been run from a prison cell by ringleader Patrick White.

He has admitted his role in a criminal enterprise during which around £1 million worth of illegal substances were seized by police.

Opening the trial of Graham and Lawrence, Brendan Burke, prosecuting, told jurors: "All of them, apart from these two - with one exception - have pleaded guilty.

"They have accepted they were involved in any number of different roles; from the top of the tree on a big scale to the bottom - people running around with bags of drugs."

The "exception", Mr Burke explained, was Steven Archer.

"Sadly one of the people, Mr Archer, fell to his death in Barrow the actual day that his case was before the court," he said.

Jurors heard that Mr Archer was driving a Vauxhall Astra containing passenger Stewart Griffiths when it was stopped by police on the motorway.

Mr Archer, the court heard, had been used "only for his driving capabilities" while Griffiths had "more knowledge".

A significant amount of high purity cocaine was found in the vehicle, and Mr Burke told the jury: "Griffiths has admitted that he was acting as a courier."

It is alleged that 31-year-old Griffiths, who admits a cocaine supply charge, was "recruited" by Jordan Graham.

Packaged cocaine found in the Astra in June was labelled "Jord".

Graham was suspected of having a "hotline" to the conspiracy kingpin Patrick White.

It was also alleged phone evidence amassed by police linked Graham to Griffiths on June 4.

But while Graham was "willing to admit being part of White's drug dealing criminal network", the court heard, this was as a cannabis dealer only.

He denied any involvement in the cocaine plot.

Jurors have heard that while Lawrence has pleaded guilty to a charge of supplying the class B drug methcathinone, he, like Graham, denies any role in the class A drugs plot.

Mr Burke told the jury: "The issue is really simple. Are these two (Graham and Lawrence) simple cannabis and methcathinone dealers, or were they into something more serious as well?"

The trial continues.

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