POLICE are seeking a man from Weybridge in connection with the large scale production and supply of ecstasy tablets from a secret drug factory in Surrey.
William Ingram, 52, is believed to be the sixth man involved in the manufacture of thousands of pills on a remote farm in Marsh Green, Edenbridge.
Five men were jailed on Friday (November 9) for a total of 32 years for their part in the drug factory conspiracy.
Ingram is believed to be abroad.
Detectives, who discovered the gang were planning to supply a large quantity of the drug, carried out a raid on the factory in May this year where they found over 40,000 tablets valued at around £250,000 and subsequently arrested a number of people.
Steven Everett, 43, of Mavis Close, Epsom and David Lewis, 46, of Ewhurst Road, Cranleigh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class A drug at a previous hearing at Guildford Crown Court in August. Lewis was convicted of a further offence of conspiracy to produce a Class A drug following a trial at the same court in October.
He was jailed for nine years and one month while Everett received an eight and a half year term when they returned for sentence today.
Charles Houston, 26, of Manor Drive North, Worcester Park; YasinFada, 21, of Court Crescent, Chessington; and Benjamin Brown, 26, of Bridge Road, Chessington all previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce a Class A drug. Houston was jailed for five and a half years, Brown received five years while Fada was handed a four and a half year term.
Surrey officers had set up Operation Circadian to investigate the gang's activities and enquiries revealed that the group were linked to the supply of ecstasy in both the UK and other locations in Europe such as Northern Ireland, Ibiza and Greece.
In January this year, Everett travelled with Lewis to Germany to try and set up deals to sell thousands of pills on the continent.
The other three defendants were responsible for sourcing the equipment and producing the drug at the farm factory.
On 9 May this year, officers raided the premises where they arrested Brown who had loaded up a vehicle with cardboard boxes which were later found to contain 40,000 ecstasy tablets emblazoned with an 'autobahn' logo.
A pill pressing machine, a pill mixing machine and other equipment were found following a search of the unit. Other members of the group were arrested soon after and further drugs and cash were seized when warrants were executed at their homes.
Detective Inspector Ben Lee, who led the SOCU investigation, said: "This was clearly a sophisticated operation run by an organised gang who had the capability to produce huge quantities of Class A drugs."
Anyone with any information on William Ingram's whereabouts is asked to contact Surrey Police on 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
