Drug gang councillor vows to shut down Nation.Cymru after we expose his crimes

A convicted member of a drug gang who we exposed after he was co-opted onto a city council says he has vowed to get Nation.Cymru shut down.

Nick Pritchard, a businessman who chairs Bangor City FC and the stadium the club plays in, also described Nation.Cymru journalists in a Facebook post as “rats”.

Last week we revealed how Pritchard, who recently announced his intention to stand as a Reform UK candidate, had been deleting his social media output.

However, he was unable to expunge from the record a BBC story that reported how he was jailed for three and a half years in 2010 for his involvement in a gang that grew cannabis plants worth £14m .

The story states: “Three men have been jailed for their part in running a cannabis factory in a rented commercial property, involving drugs worth £14m.

“Twenty Chinese and Vietnamese people have already been convicted and sentenced to jail.

“It brings to the end a major investigation, code-named Operation Jade.

“North Wales Police found what is thought to be the largest cannabis farm in the UK - 11,276 plants in Bangor.

“The haul was found in a converted building supplies store.

“The hearing at Caernarfon Crown Court dealt with a property agent and builders involved in the premises used for cultivating the drugs.

“Nicholas Pritchard from Y Felinheli, Gwynedd, a letting agent, who found properties for drug growing, was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

“Twins Keith and Edward Reid, from Anglesey, builders who adapted them, received two-and-a-half years and 18 months respectively.

“They were all convicted of conspiracy to produce cannabis at an earlier trial.

“They were also convicted of money laundering by letting or converting buildings to be used as factories.

“The judge Merfyn Hughes QC told the men: "It is well known that large scale cultivation of cannabis is a huge problem in England and Wales.

“The judge told the men large-scale cultivation of cannabis was a huge problem" ‘Those who do it need assistance from people like you who are prepared to take a risk"’, he said.

“To Nicholas Pritchard he added: ‘You made available to this gang a number of properties including one where the largest crops ever discovered in the UK was found.’

“Police said the offences began in September 2007 when a Chinese organised crime gang began to rent a number of industrial and residential premises in north Wales in Conwy, Colwyn Bay, Deganwy, Wrexham, Caernarfon, and Bangor.”

Rambling

Our source sent us a link to a rambling Facebook video in which Pritchard, who was co-opted on to Bangor City Council in September 2025 without a public election as an Independent councillor, criticised immigration and spoke of his decision to seek election as a Reform candidate. The video was later disabled for general viewers.

He also posted a message in which he demonised asylum seekers, implying they would attack women and children.

Before we ran last week’s story, we invited Pritchard to comment, but he did not do so.

Instead, after our story was published, he posted a message to his Facebook accounting, stating: “Since when can rats @Nation.Cymru speak Welsh? Fk me they can do wonders in these labs these days.”

After Pritchard issued threats, made defamatory comments and demanded that our story be taken down, Nation.Cymru’s CEO/Editor Mark Mansfield wrote to him stating: “I'm perfectly happy with the accuracy of our article and will not be removing it.

“I also note the vile abuse, false claims and defamatory comments you have been posting on social media. Do you really believe that describing journalists as 'rats' is acceptable?”

Pritchard responded: “It was the nicest word I could think of at the time. Again 7 days to delete the article and I’ll delete all mine and stop my crusade to have your news outlet shut down.”

He also demanded that a ban on him posting on Nation.Cymru’s Facebook page should be lifted. The ban will remain.

Pritchard has subsequently posted on social media a message targeting a former editor of Nation.Cymru who left in 2022.

After we published our first story about Pritchard, a number of readers contacted us to thank us for exposing someone they regard as a vile, abusive individual.