International cocaine smugglers jailed for more than fifty years for role in Wolverhampton based conspiracy
Four players in a Wolverhampton based international drugs network that handled more than £1.6 million worth of cocaine have been jailed for more than fifty years in total.
The gang used sophisticated methods of smuggling kilos of illicit drugs from the Netherlands to the UK then distributed them to street dealers to as far afield as Ireland.
But the defendants were eventually snared after National Crime Agency officers intercepted a van carrying an estimated £1.6 million worth of cocaine.
Sentencing them at Stafford Crown Court on Friday Judge John Edwards said: "Cocaine is a Class A drug which causes untold misery in society.
"On its own it can cause addiction. Often it is cooked and turned into crack cocaine which is a highly addictive drug. It is well known that Class A drugs affect the character of the users. It causes misery not just to the addict but to their families and friends who can see the change in the character and personality of their loved ones.
"Drug debts then lead to the commission of a variety of serious criminal offences such as burglary and robbery. To the people who supply these illicit drugs there are huge profits to be made.
