Greenwich man bought equipment for Britain’s biggest amphetamine lab

Elliott Walker, a 49-year-old from Hither Farm Road in Kidbrooke, purchased specialist equipment for the lab which could produce £10 million of amphetamine each month. 

Walker was a friend of John Keet, who masterminded the scheme by investing profits from his career dealing cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines into building and managing the lab. 

Keet paid his right hand man, 62-year-old Keith Davis, to undergo chemistry training so he could operate the site.  

Andrew Gurney, a 52-year-old known as ‘The Geek’, used his specialist electrical installation and plumbing skills to convert a double garage into a lab capable of producing 400 kilos of amphetamine per month. Gurney also received the same chemistry training as Davis. 

Keith Davis and Andrew Gurney were also jailed for their roles in running the huge lab (Image: NCA)Work on the lab began in March 2020 and it became operational two months later. 

The gang initially bought amphetamine pre-cursor chemical benzyl methyl ketone (BMK), but quickly realised it was more profitable to make it themselves. 

The site in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, was raided in April 2021. 

Plumes of noxious fumes billowed from the outbuilding when it was opened and fire services had to wait several hours before searching it due to the hazardous chemicals inside. 

Inside the amphetamine superlab (Image: NCA)

Last week (May 10) Keet, of Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, was jailed for 18 years at Kingston Crown Court. 

Davis, also of Chalfont St Giles, and Gurney, of Quinton in Birmingham, had already been jailed for five years and six years and three months respecitively. 

However, at a Court of Appeal hearing it was ruled that those sentences were unduly lenient and a Judge increased them to 10 years each. 

Walker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to producing class B drugs (amphetamine) was jailed for six years.