Drug smuggle gang locked up

A gang including one of the West Midlands' most wanted men was behind bars today for a multi-million pound drugs smuggling racket.

Tens of thousands of pounds of heroin and crack cocaine were smuggled from Wolverhampton to Aberdeen on an almost weekly basis.

The slick operation saw drugs hidden in coffee jars soaked in vinegar, to hide the smell from sniffer dogs.

One of the ringleaders, 38-year-old Derek Jones, went on the run in February 2009 for 19 months in a bid to avoid justice. But he and five others found themselves in the dock yesterday.

Jones, of Leicester Street, Whitmore Reans, was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for eight years for his part in the schemes.

He featured on Crimewatch and was finally arrested in Winson Green last November.

At its peak police officers believe the smuggling, which is believed to have been operating since 2002, saw between two and three kilograms of heroin transported to Scotland weekly.

The gang would purchase a kilogram of drugs in Wolverhampton for around £16,000 and sell it on the streets of Aberdeen for around £32,000.

The suspected head of the gang, Karl Wilson, from Tettenhall, is still at large.

Also jailed yesterday was Daniel Sterling, aged 29, of Malcolm Court, Chapel Ash, who got six years. Trevor Anderson, 30, of Russell Street, Graiseley and Lee Bott, 2 of Buxton Road, Telford were jailed for five years and three years respectively. Andrew Morgan, 46, of Guy Avenue, Wolverhampton, was jailed for four years.

Drug addict Kate McTurk, from Ayr, in Scotland was jailed for two years.

Detective Inspector Martin Brennan said today: "They clearly had a hierarchy and we have gone from top to bottom."