Black Country drugs gang jailed for 44 years after leader coordinated supply from prison
A gang of drug dealers who sold crack cocaine and heroin across the Black Country and Staffordshire have been locked up for a combined 44 years.
The County Lines dealers from Wolverhampton and Dudley are thought to have been making thousands of pounds each month since 2017, sending drugs to Stoke-on-Trent.
Leading member Nya Graham-Shea continued to pull the strings even after being arrested by using mobile phones which had been smuggled into prison.
He and five other men are now all behind bars after being convicted of conspiracy to Class A drugs.
They were caught after West Midlands Police officers analysed Graham-Shea's phone records which showed him coordinating the drugs supply from jail.
After assessing contacts, conversations, movements and other enquiries, officers eventually linked eight people to the conspiracy.
The final member of the gang was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court last week.
Two women were given suspended sentences while the six men were given jail terms totalling a combined 44 years.
Graham-Shea, 23 and of no fixed address, was found with a stash of drugs after he was detained.
He then remained in contact with some of his associates involved in the Wolverhampton to Stoke-on-Trent line using hidden mobile phones.
These were recovered after a search of his cell and Graham-Shea went on to admit his role in supplying the drugs and illegally having the phones.
He was also found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life following a separate unconnected trial. He was jailed for a total of 17 years.
Tyrone Johnson, 24 and of Malthouse Drive, Dudley, was also found with a revolver at his home following a separate firearms warrant last year.
He pleaded guilty to possession of a gun - along with being part of the drugs line - and was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.
Troy Senior, 25 and of Attwood Gardens, Parkfield, Wolverhampton, and Reggie Salmon, 23 and of Stourbridge Road, Dudley, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Senior was jailed for five years and Salmon for 18 months.
Connor Chambers and Carl Stephenson, both from Wolverhampton, denied the charge but were found guilty after a trial.
Chambers, 24 and of Probert Road, Oxley, was jailed for seven years and Stephenson, 21, of Roxby Gardens, Whitmore Reans, for five years.
Daniella Griffiths, 22, of Bushbury Lane, Wolverhampton and Leoni Vassell, 25, of Joan Street, Parkfield, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and each received suspended two-year sentences.
Detective Constable Lee Price, of the Wolverhampton-based team tackling gangs for West Midlands Police, said: “This illegal drugs network saw relatively young men and women recruited to trade Class A drugs between Wolverhampton and Stoke-on-Trent.
"They probably thought they would make a living off easily earned money, but instead they have all got criminal records.
"We were able to identify through phone records and movements who was involved and shut down a significant operation.
"We know the impact drugs have on our communities and the associated crime they bring. We will always act on information we receive to tackle drugs and County Lines networks."
