A man who manufactured more than 38,000 ecstacy pills in a “makeshift lab” in Manchester has been handed jail time.
Jian Huang has been sentenced to nine years behind bars.
The 44-year-old appeared Manchester Minshull Street Court yesterday (Monday 23 January), and was sentenced after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
It comes after approximately 38,500 ecstasy tablets were seized by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in April of last year, after officers attended an anonymous call for a concern for welfare at an address on Arran Street in Moston following reports that an argument could be heard coming from inside the house, and a women and children could be heard shouting.
Police attended the scene on 19 April 2023, and, despite such little information available to them, then conducted several house-to-house enquiries.
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GMP said Huang was acting “extremely evasive” to questions he was asked relating to his female partner and children, which therefore “raised concerns”.
This was all before officers went on to discover the property was being used as a “makeshift lab”.
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#JAILED | Jian Huang was sentenced to 9 years at Manchester Crown Court yesterday (Monday 23) for drug offences.
Approximately 38,500 ecstasy tablets were seized by officers.
Upstairs bedrooms inside the address were found padlocked, but when Huang said he had no keys to these rooms, forced entry was used, and an extremely-large amount of class A drugs, a tablet production machine, and loads of associated manufacturing equipment was found.
The drug was discovered in various stages of preparation – some were suspended in liquid, and some were drying, as well as more than 38,000 tablets.
GMP say they believe the pills were being “prepped for sale”, and were likely bound for Parklife festival due to time time when they were recovered.
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Man jailed after manufacturing 38,000 ecstacy pills in a ‘makeshift lab’ in Manchester / Credit: GMP
Detective Constable Heather Gore, who is from GMP’s North’s Challenger organised crime team, said response officers did an “outstanding” job in “bringing Huang to justice”.
DC Gore continued: “It looked like Huang was preparing to sell these drugs which would have likely ended up at festivals such as Parklife,
“So seizing such a huge quantity was a significant result.
“The address appeared to be a laboratory for converting ecstasy from its liquid form, to a pressed tablet. There was approximately 38,500 ecstasy tablets, 7kgs of unpressed ecstasy, and 10 litres containing methylamphetamine.
“The tablets alone have a street value of approximately £385,000.”
Featured Image – GMP
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AO Arena are hosting an ‘Evening 4’ Ricky Hatton in memory of the legendary Manchester boxer
Danny Jones
Manchester is set to host a night of remembrance and celebration in honour of the late, great, local boxer, Ricky Hatton.
Coming this summer, the AO Arena – where Hatton enjoyed so many of his iconic moments – will be holding the first-ever ‘Evening4Ricky’ later this year.
Held at the legendary sports and live entertainment venue just in time for summer, we still know very little about what the actual event will entail.
Sharing the news on social media, AO Arena said: “Join us for an unforgettable night of entertainment as Manchester comes together for Evening4Ricky.
“This will be a spectacular, unique celebration of the life, spirit and legacy of one of the city’s most beloved icons – Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.”
With seats priced at £25, fans are being encouraged to join the early bird sign-up to secure access to discounted tickets.
They go on to add: “Hosted at the legendary AO Arena, home to so many of Ricky’s big fights, featuring a superstar cast of legends from the worlds of boxing, music, comedy and entertainment.”
So, we do at least know there’ll be some famous faces coming along to help make it a memorable Manc moment, just a few months on from the city and beyond uniting for his public funeral procession.
Ricky was beloved not only by the Greater Manchester community but was a popular figure and friend to many in the sporting and showbiz industries.
The homegrown ‘Pride of Hyde‘ tragically left us on 14 September 2025 at the age of just 46, but his passing has once again helped reassert the importance of having more conversations around wellbeing, suicide prevention, and most specifically, men’s mental health.
You can find more information and see how to grab tickets right HERE.
This isn’t the only charitable in memoriam event happening across the region in the coming weeks, either, as Mancs will be gathering to pay tribute to another fellow inspiring sportsman.
Man jailed for stalking, strangling, and raping woman in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed this week for several offences including rape, strangulation and stalking while living in Manchester.
Jack-Leland Webster – previously Jack Malone – of Cedar Road, Earl Shilton in Leicester, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced yesterday (8 April 2026) after being found guilty of rape and strangulation, following pleaded guilty to stalking the victim at a previous hearing.
The incidents took place back in June2024, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained, when Webster had accused the victim of cheating with her ex-boyfriend.
The victim had been in communication with her ex after he had reached out to her to let her know he was ‘concerned’ after he found out that Webster had been impersonating him to message the victim and test her loyalty throughout their relationship.
As the victim attempted to exit the flat, Webster blocked the doorways to prevent her from leaving. He then proceeded to get on top of the victim and while he strangled her, said: “Don’t make me kill you. If you do, I’ll have to kill myself so we can be dead together,” before proceeding to sexually assault her.
While on bail, Webster purchased numerous fake social media accounts to follow and contact the victim, as well as her family and her friends, which was in breach of his no contact conditions. On one occasion, the victim was followed by over 100 accounts on a social media platform in a matter of seconds.
During police interviews, Webster denied all charges against him.
When an officer tried to arrange his second interview, Webster was described as being ‘obstructive’ and even told the officer to “pick me up from KFC” and “catch me if you can”.
“Webster showed no remorse throughout the investigation and treated it as a game,” GMP said following his sentencing.
As mentioned, Webster pleaded guilty to stalking before he went to trial, where a jury found him guilty of rape and strangulation. And then Wednesday 8 April 2026 at Manchester Crown Court, he was sentenced tonine years and five months in prison.
He has also been given an indefinite restraining order.
Emily Sergeant -
24th January 2024 
