AN East Lancashire man who helped distribute an estimated £8.5million worth of drugs across the UK has been jailed for nine years.

Christopher Watson was caught after police watched him take part in a £50,000 drugs deal in Blackburn.

And they believe it was only the tip of a drugs empire iceberg.

Watson, 30, of Heys Close, Rawtenstall, was jailed after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply controlled drugs.

Preston Crown Court was told that in September 2004 Watson drove a Ford Focus from Bacup to Westhoughton where he approached a Porsche parked nearby and got into the passenger seat, moments later getting out carrying a plastic bag.

He then drove to the Whalley Range area of Blackburn where he met up with a group of men, one of whom got into the rear of the Ford.

Watson handed the man a carrier bag and the man passed it out of the window to a young boy who ran off with it.

The vehicle was stopped a short time later by police and one kilo of cocaine, with an estimated street value of over £50,000, was found in a compartment below a rear seat.

Watson had been due to be sentenced with Derek Fletcher, 42, of Waterside Road, Summerseat, Ramsbottom, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import controlled drugs -- but he failed to attend court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Both had been arrested as part of a joint investigation by the National Crime Squad, the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency and Fife Constabulary Drug Squad.

The court was told that throughout May and June 2004, a number of drug distribution and delivery runs to Scotland were made by couriers driving hire vehicles on the instructions of Watson.

The court also heard how in April 2004 Fletcher, an HGV driver, travelled to Turin, northern Italy, in a lorry on a legitimate journey to collect car parts destined for the UK market.

But on his return route he disconnected the satellite tracking system on the vehicle in an attempt to cover his movements.

When he arrived back at Dover port on the ferry from Calais he was stopped and the vehicle searched.

Inside was 750 kilos of cannabis resin, 45 kilos of amphetamine and 10 kilos of cannabis in its herbal form -- a total street value of £2.5million. The tachograph system revealed the vehicle had travelled off route to an industrial area in Breckens, southern Holland.

A National Crime Squad spokesman said: "The drugs seized in this investigation were planned for large-scale distribution and Watson's sentence reflects the seriousness of this case.

"Total estimated street value of all the controlled drugs seized during this operation is approximately £8.5million.

"Watson is now where he rightfully belongs -- behind bars -- and the drugs have been stopped from hitting the streets and causing untold harm to our communities."