Wolverhampton man denies being at heart of huge Midland drugs ring
A man has denied being at the heart of separate conspiracies to flood two Midland towns with huge quantities of heroin and crack cocaine over a two-year period, a jury has been told.
Distribution of the two class A drugs involved more than 100 trips by couriers and 'runners' from a base in Wolverhampton to dealers in Stratford and Kidderminster.
Two people have pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to being involved in the illegal trade.
But the man said to have been behind it, Michael Porter, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiring to supply heroin and two of conspiring to supply crack cocaine.
Porter, aged 30, of Adey Road, Ashmore Park, has also denied conspiring to pervert the course of justice, conspiring to launder criminal property, possessing a phone in jail, assault, false imprisonment and making a threat to kill.
Luke Allen, 21, of Cole Street, Netherton, Dudley, and Bakary Dibba, 26, of Bournemouth, both deny conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine in Stratford.
Mark Gomersall, 37, whose address cannot be given, denied conspiring to supply the two drugs in Kidderminster and false imprisonment.
Prosecutor Mr Philip Bradley told the jury: "Michael Porter lies at the heart of all of this offending.
"Mr Porter, who went by the name P, led an organised crime group that used trusted couriers and runners to carry those drugs from the Wolverhampton area into Warwickshire by road and by train.
"Once the drugs reached Stratford they would be stored and then distributed by a network of sub-dealers."
Mr Bradley said that before the police were aware of the conspiracy, individual people were arrested in possession of class A drugs, some of whom have been jailed. The court heard the couriers and sub-dealers were easily replaced by others.
Dirk Howell, 33, formerly of Kingsway Road, Wolverhampton, and Peter Goodwin, 42, of Bidford-on-Avon, have both admitted their parts in the drug conspiracies.
Mr Bradley said Porter 'expanded his empire' to Kidderminster where a couple, who were both 'hopelessly addicted', were exploited by him to store and sell drugs. But in June last year they told police they feared for their lives.
The woman explained that she had fallen into debt to Porter, and the previous month he and Gomersall had turned up at their flat where Porter had punched her, knocking her to the floor, and then began stamping on her.
She said Porter put a kettle on before pouring it over her shoulder, complaining to Gomersall that it had not fully boiled, and then made her stand in the kitchen as he brandished a knife. The trial continues.
