12th drug dealer jailed over heroin and cocaine ring in Stafford

Aaron Wingate, 46 and from Stafford, has been locked up for four years and seven months after moving drugs into Stafford from towns across the West Midlands.

He became the 12th member of the drugs gang to be sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on Monday after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine at trial.

Ten men were last October sentenced to a combined total of 53 years for their part in the drugs ring and an 11th man was jailed in December.

The investigation began when Walsall man Kyle Stewart was twice caught with heroin and crack cocaine in Stafford and arrested in August and September 2015, the court heard.

Stewart, of Caldmore Road, was jailed for 10 years - the longest of the sentences handed out last year.

Stewart then entered into a partnership with men from Bilston and south London and continued to supply drugs to Stafford.

They began using street dealers and expanded their operation to provide a 24/7 supply, recruiting others into the operation where the drugs line was used as a go-between for drug users and street dealers.

Arrests

Wingate, of Foregate Street, and another man were the next to be arrested for possession.

On February 17, 2016 officers stopped a car on the M6 near Stafford and seized mobile phones, including the drugs line. There were also scales with traces of cocaine on them.

Then in April 2016, officers seized a new drugs line and arrested 22-year-old Bruno Semedo.

The following month, Wingate and another man were arrested in possession of drugs.

Thousands of pounds of cash and amounts of crack cocaine and heroin were seized during the operation.

Semedo, of Talbot Street in Hockley, Birmingham, was jailed for three years and 10 months last December after pleading guilty at a retrial.

Pc Nathan Bromage, of Staffordshire Police, said: “This was a sophisticated operation with the capacity to supply crack cocaine and heroin 24/7, with offenders working shifts.

“We repeatedly disrupted the line used by this group and I’m pleased that the team’s hard work has resulted in these sentences. We will not tolerate drug dealing in Stafford and we will bring offenders before the courts.”

The men sentenced for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine last October were:

• Kyle Stewart, 23, of Caldmore Road, Walsall, jailed for 10 years

• Shaquille Reid, 23, of Railway Street, West Bromwich, jailed for 9 years 9 months

• Jordan Baker, 22, of Mayday Road, Thornton Heath, London, jailed for 8 years 6 months

• Rickel Rawlins, 22, of Marbury Drive, Bilston, jailed for 7 years 2 months

• Mark Rogers, 39, of Albert Terrace, Stafford, jailed for 5 years 3 months

• Christopher Edwards, 31, of Mill Bank, Stafford, jailed for 3 years

• Westley Walton, 41, of Lloyd Street, Stafford, jailed for 2 years 8 months

• Ashley Clowes, 22, of Princes Street, Stone, jailed for 2 years 4 months

• Jordan Wheatley, 20, of Blythe Road, Stafford, jailed for 1 year 10 months

• Tyon Gordon, 20, of Park Avenue, Hockley, Birmingham, jailed for 1 year 8 months

If you suspect drug dealing in your community call Staffordshire Police on 101 or the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through their anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org