Drugs gang locked up for more than 50 years for county lines conspiracy
A gang of men have been locked up for a total of more than 50 years for being involved in a county lines supply chain which was responsible for distributing Class A drugs with a street value of up to £549,000.
The eight men were involved with the drugs chain which operated throughout Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Peterborough and Grantham, during 2017 and 2018, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
The case related to a number of drugs lines which were responsible for the distribution of around 5.9Kg of heroin and crack cocaine.
A police investigation began in March 2017, when Brian Asante started to supply drugs in Stafford.
He was arrested in the company of Armann Smalling and Imari James in Stafford town centre following reports of suspicious activity.
The trio had been spotted on CCTV distributing drugs to customers in the town.
Later, forensic work then linked other dealer, Kurtis Perry, to these drugs.
A month later, having been released under investigation, Asante was arrested in Stafford again and found to have 60 deals of crack cocaine and a knife on him.
Again, Perry was later linked to these drugs.
Then in September 2017, Staffordshire Police arrested Jaydeep Neta at an address in Stafford.
Neta was found to be concealing drugs in his body and he had also been cuckooing the home address of a vulnerable woman as part of his drug-related activity.
He was later charged and remanded in custody for this offence.
Police inquiries led officers to link Neta to the so-called ‘Jay’ drugs line – linked to the previous arrests of Asante, Smalling and James – as well as identify a gang from the Pendeford area of Wolverhampton was largely behind the operation.
Later that year, inquiries took police to Grantham, where in November 2017 Reece Gordon, Alex Allen and Brian Asante were arrested in a vehicle while in possession of large quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, a large knife and balaclavas.
Alex Allen was found to have the drugs concealed in his underwear and Reece Gordon could be forensically linked to these drugs.
They were all released under investigation while inquiries and evidence-gathering continued.
Around two weeks’ later, police raided another address in Stafford and arrested two men – one being Tanyadzwa Chingore – who had cuckooed the home address of a vulnerable man.
Officers seized a large amount of cash and a mobile phone.
Then in mid-December 2017, inquiries led officers to Peterborough where Jordan Ryan was arrested, and officers seized crack cocaine and a mobile phone.
He was found to be working for the ‘Tiny’ drugs line and was linked to the ‘Jay’ line operated by the Wolverhampton gang.
He was later released under investigation.
At the end of December, in the Pendeford area, officers attempted to stop Reece Gordon, who made off in a car before abandoning it.
A phone and a large knife were recovered from the vehicle.
The phone showed a link between the so-called ‘Panda’ drugs line in Peterborough and Grantham, which was linked to Gordon.
In January 2018, Asante was arrested again, having been found in possession of cannabis and an incriminating mobile phone, while in early February, Kurtis Perry, Kieron Fletcher and later Reece Gordon, were targeted in Pendeford.
They were all subsequently released under investigation.
In May the same year, officers arrested Trehmayne Clarke and Kurtis Perry in a joint operation.
Clarke was later revealed to be operator of the ‘Tiny’ line while Perry could be shown to be involved in the supply of crack and heroin in Peterborough. Both Clarke and Perry were charged and remanded in custody over these offences.
All defendants were later charged and convicted of drugs offences.
They were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on dates throughout January and February.
Asante, 22, of Beaconside in Stafford, who admitted conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.
James, 21, of Parkfields in Wolverhampton, admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin and being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack.
He was handed a six-year and eight-month sentence.
Perry, 24, of Pendeford, Wolverhampton was sentenced to a total of eight years imprisonment after admitting conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
Neta, 24, of HMP Dovegate, Staffordshire, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment after admitting being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.
Gordon, 27, of Rusholme in Manchester, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.
He was sentenced to nine years and six months behind bars.
Chingore, 22, of Pendeford, Wolverhampton, was found guilty of conspiring to supply crack cocaine and heroin.
He was sentenced to four years in jail.
Clarke, 26, of the East Gate area of Peterborough, was sentenced to a total of nine years and seven months in prison after admitting conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
And Fletcher, 22, of Pendeford, was sentenced to three years, two months in prison after admitting conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
Three further defendants are due to be sentenced at a later date.
Sergeant Thomas Fotherby, of Stafford local policing team, who led the investigation, said: “This investigation has been a massive undertaking for myself and my colleagues.
“The investigation was protracted and complex and I’m pleased that each offender has been handed a custodial sentence for their role in supplying drugs in Staffordshire as well as further afield.
“I hope this case reiterates to the public how we continue to work to disrupt county lines drug dealing in our communities and that we are determined to bring offenders to justice.”
