Gang sentenced after heroin and crack cocaine county lines crackdown
Nine men from the Black Country and Wyre Forest have been sentenced for their roles in county lines drug dealing.
The men were all found guilty following a two-week trial at Worcester Crown Court of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in the Wyre Forest area.
In November 2017, officers from Kidderminster's Integrated Offender Management (IOM) team responded to intelligence that men from Bilston, Smethwick, Wednesbury and Oldbury were involved in county lines drug dealing in the Wyre Forest area. County lines drug dealing involves gangs transporting drugs from bigger cities into smaller towns.
The intelligence gathered suggested that the group, which was led by Mark Barnett and Ryan Barnett, had been operating in the Wyre Forest area for some time and had been conspiring together to form a commercial enterprise – whereby they played their respective parts in sourcing, distributing and selling heroin and crack cocaine.
Officers from the IOM team, with support from local policing teams and West Midlands Police, stopped a number of vehicles in the Wyre Forest, Oldbury and Stourbridge areas which led to the arrest of the men, who were later charged and remanded in custody.
The nine men were all sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on September 27, following the West Mercia Police investigation.
Mark Barnett, 25, of Church Green, in Bilston, was sentenced to nine years and five months for conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine), while Ryan Barnett, 23, of Salop Road, in Oldbury, was jailed for seven years and one month after being found guilty of the same charge.
Jamal Pottinger, 29, of Romsley Road, in Oldbury, and Rennell Smith, 26, of Lower High Street, in Wednesbury, were both found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) and were both sentenced to three years and six months each.
Gordon Deen, 35, of Addenbrooke Road, in Smethwick, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to take an extended driving test after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) and dangerous driving.
Terrelle White, 24, of Bideford Road, in Smethwick, was sentenced to 22 months in prison suspended for two years, ordered to complete a 20 day rehabilitation activity requirement, 95 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £300 in costs after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine).
Callum Hill, 26, of Longbank Road, in Oldbury, was sentenced to three years and 11 months in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine).
Scott Winfield, 43, of Queensway, in Bewdley, was jailed for three years and seven months in prison and disqualified from driving for 12 months after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) and dangerous driving.
And Tyrone Crowley, 24, of Thompson Road, in Oldbury, was jailed for four years in prison and disqualified from driving for 12 months extended by two years until an extended driving test is completed after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs (heroin and cocaine) and dangerous driving.
Four further defendants are due to be sentenced in connection with the investigation and will appear at Worcester Crown Court at a later date.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Anthony Flannagan from West Mercia Police said: "This was a protracted investigation led by the North Worcestershire Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Team which saw officers carry out a series of proactive interventions where seizures and arrests were made.
“A number of these incidents were aggravated through dangerous driving, offenders failing to stop for police, damage being caused to police vehicles, and the recovery of knives from offenders’ vehicles.
"A significant seizure of class A drugs was also made, which has prevented a possible large-scale county lines supply developing within our county.
“I hope this case highlights how seriously we treat these offences and sends out a warning to drug dealers who think they can come into our county to deal drugs that we are targeting them, and will work tirelessly to ensure they are brought to justice.”
